OCT  4  1921 

BR  355  .L5  D38  1919  v. 3     ^ 
Dau,  W.  H.  T.  1864-1944. 
The  Leipzig  debate  in  1519 


YitffSMrxt 


Section 


AT  THE  TRIBUNAL 
OF  CAESAR. 


H((- 


OF  Pflfe 


OCT  4  ld21 


l^^i.Al^i^^ 


LEAVES  FROM  THE  STORY 
OF  LUTHER^S  LIFE. 


H«e 


By  W.  H.  T.  DAU. 


St.  Louis,  Mo. 
concordia  publishing  house. 

1921. 


Four  Other  Reformation  Anniversary  Books 
of  Prof.  W.  H.  T.  Dau. 


rOUR  HUNDRED  YEARS. 

Commemorative  Essays  on  the  Reformation  of  Dr.  Martin 
Luther  and  Its  Blessed  Results. 

Edited  hy  Prof.  W.  H.  T.  Dau. 

The  twenty-seven  essays  contained  in  this  grand  jubilee  volume  are 
so  many  charming  bird's-eye  views  of  the  Reformer  —  his  person, 
marked  events  of  his  epochal  life,  his  towering  talents,  the  monumental 
reformatory  work  he  accomplished,  the  wonderful  influence  he  exerted, 
and  the  blessings  we  are  reaping  to  this  day  from  his  life's  work.  No 
Lutheran  household  should  be  without  this  book. 

338  pages.    Bound  in  silk  cloth.    Gilt  stamping  on  back  and  cover. 

Reduced  Price,  50  cts. 

LUTHER   EXAMINED   AND   REEXAMINED. 

"This  book  is  frankly  polemical."  the  author  says.  "It  had  to  be, 
or  there  would  have  been  no  need  of  writing  it.''  It  is  a  refutation 
of  the  slanders  against  Luther's  character  and  motives  which  were 
freshened  up  with  particular  zeal  and  malice  a  few  years  ago  to  coun- 
teract Protestantism's  celeln-ation  of  the  Quadricentennial  of  the  Refor- 
mation. In  his  inimitable  style,  with  clear,  convincing  logic,  and  in 
a  dignified  manner.  I'rof.  Dau  has  given  Lutheranism's  answer.  His 
reply  is  that  of  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  and  makes  most  delightful 
reading, 

243  pages.     Paper  cover.     Price,  35  cts. 

THE  LEIPZIG  DEBATE   IN   1519. 

The  Leipzig  disputation  is  one  of  the  most  famous  in  history,  and 
largely  influenced  the  course  of  subsequent  events.  It  brought  the  two 
contending  parties,  Luther  and  his  followers,  and  the  Papists,  into  close 
and  sharp  contact.  The  struggle  that  commenced  at  the  Pleissenburg 
Castle  in  Leipzig  was  "for  the  people,  in  behalf  of  their  (iod-given 
rights,  liberties,  and  privileges."  —  In  reading  Prof.  Dau's  book  on  this 
memoral)le  event,  one  feels  himself  a  witness  to  the  scenes  and  episodes 
that  made  history  there.  The  book  also  has  a  valuable  appendix,  which 
contains  three   rare   historical  documents,   and  a   topical   index. 

235  pages.     Bound  in  cloth,  with  gold  stamping.     Price,  $1.00. 

THE   GREAT  RENUNCIATION. 

A  historical  monograph  on  the  most  critical  period  in  the  life  of 
Luther,  that  which  followed  his  posting  of  the  Ninety-five  Theses,  and 
in  which  were  included  the  Augiistinian  convention  at  Heidelberg,  the 
interview  with  Cajetan  at  Augsburg,  the  conference  at  Altenburg,  and 
the  delta te  at  Leipzig.  The  author  presents  this  stirring  period  with 
all  the  vividness  of  an  eye-witness.  There  is  not  a  dull  page  in  the  book. 
Incidentally,  the  references  in  the  footnotes  bear  witness  to  the  author's 
painstaking  research.  Also  to  this  brilliant  monograph  the  author  has 
added  an  interesting  appendix,  containing,  amongst  others.  Luther's 
"Appeal  from  the  I'ope  111  Informed  to  a  Pope  to  be  Better  Informed" 
and  his  "Appeal  to  a  Council." 

^56  pages.     Bound  in  cloth,  with  gold  stamping.     Price,  $1.75. 
CONCORDIA   PUBLISHING  HOUSE,   St.  Louis,  Mo. 


PREFACE. 

Poetic  fancy  has  woven  a  great  deal  of  fiction  around 
the  most  spectacular  event  in  the  life  of  l.uther,  liis  journey 
to  Worms  and  his  defense  before  the  German  Diet.  The 
myth-producing  and  legend-forming  forces,  which  inva- 
riably appropriate  great  public  characters  for  tlieir  work 
of  embellishing,  but  do  not  always  tell  what  was  great  nor 
what  was  true  in  the  life  of  the  hero  of  their  choice,  began 
their  work  about  the  time  that  Luther  became  a  national 
celebrity,  and  their  activity  was  fed  from  sources  botli 
friendly  and  hostile  to  Luther.  Tlie  searcher  after  facts 
is  forced  to  consign  much  of  this  poetry  to  the  discard; 
and  yet  these  chips  of  imagination  from  either  the  friends 
or  the  foes  of  Luther  point  to  a  real  fact,  viz.,  the  powerful 
impression  which  Luther,  by  the  time  that  he  was  cited  to 
appear  before  Charles  V,  had  made  on  the  mind  of  Europe. 

The  mere  sober  recounting,  however,  of  the  actual 
occurrence,  with  its  wealth  of  authentic  detail  and  the 
gorgeous  setting  which  the  history  of  tlie  times  lias  given 
it,  is  so  full  of  genuinely  dramatic  elements  that  in  this 
instance  again  the  plain  facts  are  stranger  than  the  most 
beautiful  fiction  concerning  them.  Especially  is  this  found 
to  be  so  when  the  historic  investigation  embraces,  as  it 
should,  the  study  of  motives  and  causes,  although  these 
are  admittedly  matters  of  rather  evanescent  quality.  'I'he 
present  study,  even  more  so  than  i)revi()us  studies  of  phases 
of  Luther's  life,  represents  such  ;ni  effort.  The  Worms 
episode  was  such  an  unusual  oeiiiiTeiiee  at  the  time  of  its 
happening  that  it  requires  for  its  j)ro])er  elucidation  eon- 


IV  PREFACE. 

stant  looking  behind  the  scenes,  where  a  powerful  struggle 
is  going  on  between  the  power  that  wants  to  prevent,  and 
another  power  that  wants,  to  speed,  Luther's  coming  to 
"Worms.  Accordingly,  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  the 
present  narrative  has  been  devoted  to  a  description  of  the 
activity  of  the  papal  nuntii  at  Worms,  especially  of  Alean- 
der,  and  of  the  statesmen  and  diplomats  at  the  Emperor's 
court.  However,  none  of  this  material  has  been  taken  up 
into  the  present  volume  for  its  own  sake,  but  only  because 
of  the  bearing  it  has  on  the  hopes  and  fears  that  animated 
Luther  in  these  months  of  the  crisis  in  his  life,  on  the 
decisions  that  were  formed  by  him,  and  the  classical  sim- 
plicity with  which  he  carried  out  his  decisions.  Spite  of 
the  great  amount  and  variety  of  local  coloring,  character- 
sketching,  and  even  town  gossip  that  has  been  thrown 
into  this  narrative  at  convenient  points,  the  core  and  mar- 
row of  the  book  is  —  only  lAither. 

And  what  a  truly  great  and  lovable  personality  does 
he  appear,  not  only  in  the  quiet  and  calm  activity  at  his 
university  village  on  the  eve  of  events  that  would  have 
turned  the  heads  of  lighter  minds,  but  also  in  contrast  with 
the  restless  and  vain  striving  of  his  enemies !  He  is  finish- 
ing the  first  epoch  of  his  life-work,  and  he  is  finishing  it 
well.  Glapion,  simulating  admiration  for  Luther  as  a  re- 
former, had  compared  him  to  a  ship  bearing  an  invaluable 
cargo  that  is  about  to  make  port.  In  order  to  reach  the 
proper  mooring  and  deposit  his  precious  freight  in  trust- 
worthy hands,  Glapion  argued,  Luther  must  recant  his 
attacks  on  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  and  the  papal 
dogmas.  That  done,  the  Pope  would  take  care  of  his 
excellent  scheme  of  reforming  the  Church.  But  if  he  re- 
fused to  recant,  he  would  become  a  ship  that  founders  in 


PREFAC'K 


sight  of  the  harbor.  One  dreads  to  think  of  tlic  ])ossibiIity 
of  the  adoption  of  Glapion's  scheme  by  Luther:  that  would 
have  been  the  wreckage  of  the  world's  ho])e  in  that  ^^'iicra- 
tion  and  for  generations  to  come.  As  his  voice  ran;,' 
through  that  hall  in  Worms  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening 
on  April  18  in  vindication  of  the  authority  of  Scripture 
and  of  a  conscience  bound  by  God's  Word,  and  rose  to  its 
sublime  climax  in  the  declaration  that  the  position  which 
he  had  voiced  was  unalterable  then  and  forevermore,  siirhs 
•of  relief  were  breathed  by  honest  Christian  hearts  that  had 
been  in  suspense  as  to  the  outcome  since  the  day  previous, 
and  men  were  saying  to  each  other:  "He's  brouglit  oui- 
ship  to  the  anchorage!  God  bless  him  I"  The  confession 
which  Luther  made  before  the  most  august  assembly  of  the 
greatest  men  of  the  world  was  the  one  action  needed  to 
prove  to  all  Europe  that  the  cause  which  the  peasant's  son 
had  championed  before  a  scion  of  the  Caesars  }iad  a  right 
to  live,  and  would  live  "though  devils  all  the  world  should 
fill,  all  seeking  to  devour  it." 

Virtually  the  scene  of  April  18  is  Luther's  exit  from 
the  stage  at  the  close  of  the  first  act.  \Miat  happened  at 
Worms  during  the  ten  days  w^hich  he  still  tarried  tlieii' 
adds  no  essential  point,  and  explains  another  event  in 
Luther's  life,  viz.,  why  he  did  not  return  to  Wittenberg. 
Since  the  scope  of  this  narrative  was  restricted  to  an 
account  of  the  reasons  why  Luther  was  summoned  before 
Charles  V  and  of  his  acts  in  the  Diet,  the  book  closes  with 
the  evening  of  April  18. 

The  methods  of  treating  the  subjects  that  have  come 
up  for  review  in  this  volume  is  the  same  as  in  tlie  ]>nM-ed- 
inor  volumes.     The  entire  narrative  is  worked  up  from  the 


VI  PREFACE. 

original  documents,  and  cognate  studies  made  previously 
by  others  in  the  same  field  have  been  given  due  attention. 

The  reviewers  have  been  very  kind  to  these  efforts  to 
exhibit  history  in  the  making,  feeble  and  incomplete 
though  they  are,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  present  volume 
will  give  evidence  that  the  author  has  profited  from 
criticism. 

May  the  Lord  whom  Luther  confessed  deign  to  use 
this  attempt  to  depict  one  of  His  loyal  servants  for  in- 
ducing the  men  of  our  time  to  render  Him  similar  service. 

W.  H.  T.  Dau. 
St.  Louis,  March  8,  1921. 


CONTENTS. 

Preface.  vw.k 

1.  Fair  Warnino: 1 

2.  Heading  Off  the  Storm  7 

3.  Law  versus  Justice " 22 

4.  Politics  and  Politicians 2H 

5.  The  Emperor  in  an  Unguarded  Moment .'U 

6.  Reversing-  the  Imperial  Engine 40 

7.  A  Check  to  Aleander 53 

8.  A  Sensation  at  a  Funeral (il 

9.  Life  at  Worms  During  tlie  Diet <;i; 

10.  With  Luther  at  Wittenberg 74 

IL  Brueck  and  Glapion: 

First   Conference   !>2 

.                  Second  Conference  !>7 

Third  Conference 101 

Last  Conference 100 

12.  "It  Behooves  the  Roman  Pontiff." 108 

13.  Ash  Wednesday  at  the  Diet 120 

14.  The  Clash  in  the  Electoral   Council  12H 

15.  The  Diet  Says  Luther  Shall  Come! 137 

16.  Aleander  Tries  to  Arrange   Luther's  Journey   to  Worms  144 

17.  The  Citation  to  Worms 140 

18.  The  Professor  Clears  His  Desk l.")6 

10.  The  Journey  to  Worms:    Wittenberg  to  W«'imar lOH 

20.  The  Journey  to  Worms:    At  F:rfurt 173 

21.  The  Journey  to  Worms:    Erfurt  to  Frankfort 170 

22.  The  Conference  at  the  Ebernburg 185 

23.  Luther  Enters  Worms 1*^' 

24.  Before  the  Crisis 1  •• ' 

25.  Luther's  First  Apptvirance  Before  the  Diet 1!>7 

26.  On  the  Eve  of  the  (ireat  Day 204 

27.  "God  Help  Me !    Amen." -1  '^ 

28.  "I  Am  Througli !  "   .  . --  ^ 

Appendix. 

1.  Origin  and  Cliaracter  of  tlie  (icrman   Diet 224 

II.  Wurmbs 231 

in.  Olapion's  Exceptions  to   Luther's  It  ah  i/l  on  inn  Capttvxty. 

with    Brueck's   Conunent    238 

IV.  Litany  in  Behalf  of  Gernmny -\^ 

V.  Passionary  of  Christ   and   Anticliri.st   •-^•J-* 

Index   


ABBREVIATIONS. 


References  to  Luther's  Works,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  are 
always  to  the  St.  Louis  Edition,  which  is  cited  by  simply  giving 
volume  and  column  (or  page),  thus:  XV,  632. 

WE  =  Weimar  Edition  of  Luther's  Works. 

Erl.  Ed.  =  Erlangen  Edition  of  Luther's  Works. 

EB  =:  Dr.  Martin  Luther's  Brief ivechsel.    Von  Dr.  th.  Ernst  Lud- 

wig  Enders. 
SC  zzz  Luther's    Correspondence   and   Contemporary   Letters.      By 

Preserved  Smith. 
KL,z=:  Martin  Luther.     Sein  Leben  und  seine  Schriften.     Von  Ju- 
lius Koestlin. 
KoL  =  Martin  Luther.    Eine  Biographic.    Von  Dr.  Theodor  Kolde. 
HL  =  Luthei^s  Leben.     Von  Adolf  Hausrath. 

SL  =  The  Life  and  Letters  of  Martin  Luther.   By  Preserved  Smith. 
McGL  =:  MartiTu  Luther,  the  Man  and  His  Work.    By  Arthur  Cush- 

man  McGiffert. 
VRG  =  The  Reformation  in  Germany.    By  Henry  C.  Vedder. 
GL  z=  Luther.    By  Hartmann  Grisar,  S.  J. 
FNU  =  Neues  JJrkundenhuch.     Von  C.  E.  Foerstemann. 
BAL  =1  Aleander  und  Luther  1521.     Die  vervollstaendigten  Alean- 

derdepeschen  nebst  Untersuchimgen  ueber  den  Wormser 

Reichstag.    Von  Dr.  Theodor  Brieger. 
KDA  =  Die  Depeschen  des  Nuntius  Aleander  vom  Wormser  Reiehs- 

tage  lo2L   Von  Dr.  P.  Kalkoff. 
HAL  =  Aleander  und  Luther  auf  dent  Reichstage  zu  Worms.    Von 

Adolf  Hausrath. 
RA  =1  Deutsche  Reiehstagsakten  unter  Karl  V.    Bd.  M.    Bearbeitet 

von  Adolf  Wrede. 

VRVj  =  Protest antische  Real-Enzyklopaedie.  3.  Auflage.  Von 
Hauck. 

ERE  =z:  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics.    By  James  Hastings. 

CR  =  Corpus  Reformatorum.     By  Bretschneider  and  Bindseil. 

DLER  =  Luther  Examined  and  Reexamined.     By  W.  H.  T.  Dau. 

DLD  =  The  Leipzig  Debate  in  1319.     By  same  author. 

I^GrR  =  The  Great  Renunciation.    By  same  author. 

FHY  =  Four  Hundred  Years.  Commemorative  Essays  on  the  Ref- 
ormation.   Ed.  by  W.  H.  T.  Dau. 


1.  Fair  Warning. 

When  the  Roman  Cnria  adopted  the  insensate  policy  of 
proclaiming  to  the  world  by  its  most  awe-inspiring  official 
documents  that  Luther  was  a  heretic,  and  called  upon  all  men 
to  treat  him  as  such,  Luther  foresaw  with  remarkable  clear- 
ness what  the  consequences  of  this  procedure  would  be  to 
the  papal  regime.  All  his  public  acts  in  answer  to  the  bull 
Bxsnrge  Domine  have  a  twofold  aim :  they  are  to  vindicate 
his  position  and  the  cause  of  truth  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and  they  are  to  make  the  Papists  see  that  their  mad  zeal  is 
without  knowledge  and  in  the  end  will  lead  to  their  own 
undoing. 

To  make  it  possible  for  his  adversaries  to  retrace  their 
steps,  Luther  had  treated  the  first  rumors  of  the  arrival  of 
the  bull  in  Germany  as  a  false  report.  He  had  done  this 
in  a  brochure,  entitled  Regarding  the  New  Bckian  Bulls 
and  Lies.  The  genesis  of  this  publication  was  as  follows: 
On  October  3  there  had  issued  from  the  press  of  Martin 
Landsberg  at  Leipzig  a  brochure  by  Kck,  which  was  to  ac- 
company the  publication  of  the  bull  in  Germany,  and  explain 
the  reasons  for  Luther's  excommunication.')  On  the  same 
day  the  bull  itself  had  reached  Wittenberg,  and  Kck's  bro- 
chure arrived  soon  after.  Tn  his  reply  Luther  denounced 
the  heresies  with  which  Eck  had  branded  him  as  slander. 
At  the  end  of  his  reply  Luther  stated  he  had  been  advised 
that  Eck  had  brought  with  him  a  new  bull,  which  was  so  very 
like  Eck  that  it  deserved  to  be  called  by  Eck's  name— so  full 


1)  The  title  of  the  brochure  was:  Vindiration  of  the  Holy  Council  of 
Constance,  of  Holy  Christendom,  of  the  Very  August  Emperor  Sicjismund. 
and  also  of  the  German  Nobility,  against  the  Untruthful  Charges  of 
Brother  Martin  Luther  that  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  were  Burned 
in  Violation  of  the  Papal.  Christian,  and  Imperial  Safe-Conduct.  It  was 
at  once  sent  to  Elector  Frederick  bv  Miltitz.  .'\  reply,  under  the  pseudonym 
of  Kuntz  von  Oberndorf,  was  issued  against  it  from  the  press  of  Matthes 
Maler  at  Erfurt:  A  Dialog  or  Conversation  Directed  against  the  Brochure 
of  Dr.  Eck  which  He  Has  Issued  in   Vindication  of,  etc.,  XV,  1412. 

DAV.    TklBUXAI-    OF    CAESAR.  1 


2  FAIR  WARNING. 

of  lies  it  was.  It  must  be  a  bogus  document,  Luther  says, 
because  the  appeal  which  he  had  made  to  a  general  council 
of  the  Church  would  forbid  such  a  publication.  Moreover, 
through  the  kind  offices  of  Elector  Frederick  his  controversy 
with  Rome  had  been  referred  by  Miltitz  himself,  the  Pope's 
agent,  to  the  Bishop  of  Treves  for  settlement,  and  the  Pope 
surely  would  not  treat  such  eminent  personages  as  duffers 
and  permit  them  to  engage  in  a  fruitless  effort.  Luther 
argued  that,  since  parties  to  a  case  in  litigation  are  debarred 
from  acting  in  their  own  cause,  it  was  inconceivable  that  the 
Pope  should  have  given  Eck  orders,  under  cover  of  which 
the  latter  might  vent  his  animosity  against  Luther  in  such 
unmeasured  terms  as  he  was  doing.  Lastly,  Luther  said  that 
he  could  no  longer  trust  mere  copies  of  papal  bulls,  because 
much  crooked  business  had  been  done  with  such  counterfeit 
documents.  In  1518  he  had  been  shown  such  a  false  paper 
that  was  said  to  have  been  given  to  Cajetan.^)  Luther  con- 
cluded : — 

Therefore  I  want  to  see  with  mine  own  eyes  the  leaden  seal, 
the  wax  imprint,  the  string,  the  signature,  the  wrapping,  and 
everything,  or  I  shall  not  care  a  hair's  breadth  for  all  the  prattle 
that  others  may  make  about  it.  .  .  .  And  herewith  I  would  have 
everybody  forewarned,  lest,  having  been  besmirched  by  Roman 
tricks  and  Dr.  Eck,  they  fall  foul  of  me ;  and  I  want  the  executors 
of  the  bull  in  particular  to  know  that,  if  this  thing  turns  out 
against  them,  I  gave  them  fair  warning.  If  this  affair  is  to  have 
a  right  ending,  a  different  nose  will  have  to  be  made  for  it.  But 
if  force  is  to  prevail, — which,  however,  will  require  a  good  deal 
more  strength, — then  God's  will  be  done !  .1  shall  take  a  cheerful 
risk  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen.""') 

When  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  bull  was  no  longer 
possible,  Luther  had  issued  a  refutation  of  it  in  Latin  towards 
the  end  of  October,  1520,  and  in  German  at  the  beginning 
of  November.'*)  In  the  Latin  edition  Luther  had  still  de- 
clared  that   it   was   incredible   that   the   Pope   should  be   the 


2)  DGR,  p.  176. 

3)  XV,    1412-1425. 

4)  Ad-i'd-siis    cxccrabilcm    Antichristi    bullam.       Wider    die    Bulle    des 
Endchrists.       XV,    1460-1475. 


FAIR    WARNING.  3 

author  of  the  bull.  But  whoever  the  author  might  be,  Luther 
ciddressed  him  as  the  Antichrist,  and  hurled  hii,  curse  at  the 
bull,  treating  it  as  a  blasphemy  against  the  Lord  Christ. 
Luther  had  apostrophized  the  Pope  thus : — 

I  herewith  accuse  you,  Leo  X,  and  you,  milords  cardinals, 
and  all  you  who  are  men  of  some  importance  at  Rome,  and 
frankly  tell  you  to  your  face  that,  if  this  bull  has  gone  out  in  your 
name  and  you  acknowledge  it  as  your  own,  T,  too,  shall  make  use 
of  my  authority  which  I  received  when,  by  divine  mercy,  I  be- 
came a  child  of  God  and  a  coheir  of  Christ  in  Baptism,  and  was 
built  upon  the  Rock  that  is  not  afraid  of  the  gates  of  hell.  1 
admonish  you  in  the  Lord  to  mend  your  ways  and  to  stop  these 
diabolical  blasphemies,  and  that,  speedily.  If  you  fail  to  do 
this,  know  that  I  and  all  servants  of  Christ  regard  your  See, 
which  Satan  himself  has  occupied,  as  the  seat  of  Antichrist, 
whom  we  will  not  obey,  and  to  whom  we  will  not  be  under  obliga- 
tion, but  rather  will  reprobate  him  as  the  arch-enemy  of  Christ. 
Moreover,  we  are  not  only  prepared  to  suffer  for  this  verdict 
of  ours  your  silly  censures,  but  we  even  pray  you  never  to 
absolve  us.  Yea,  we  willingly  offer  ourselves  up  to  you  even 
unto  death,  and  invite  you  to  finish  upon  us  your  bloody  tyranny. 
As  far  as  the  Spirit  of  Christ  enables  us,  and  to  the  limit  of  the 
strength  of  our  faith,  we  condemn  you  with  this  writing,  if 
you  persevere  in  your  madness,  and  we  deliver  you,  together  with 
that  bull  of  yours  and  all  your  decretals,  unto  the  destruction  of 
the  flesh,  that  your  spirit  may  be  liberated  with  us  in  the  day 
of  the  Lord  ;5)  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whom  you 
are  persecuting.     Amen. 

This  stern  language  Luther  had  accompanied  with  the 
following  appeal : — 

Where  are  you,  noble  Emperor  Charles?  Where  are  you, 
Christian  princes?  You  have  vowed  allegiance  to  Christ  in  Bap- 
tism; can  you  tolerate  this  hellish  voice  of  Antichrist?  Wiierc 
are  you,  bishops,  you  doctors,  all  you  that  profess  Christ?  Can 
you  be  silent  in  view  of  these  horrible,  unheard-of  practises  of 
the  Papists?  It  is  come,  it  is  come,  that  wrath  of  God  to  the 
uttermost,  upon  these  men,  who  are  enemies  of  the  cross  of 
Christ  and  of  God's  truth,  so  much  so  that  they  are  contrary 
to  all  men  and  forbid  the  preaching  of  the  truth,  as  Paul  said 
regarding  the  Jews.^) 


5)  1  Cor.  5,  5. 

6)  1  Thess.  2,  15  f. 


4  FAIR    WARNING. 

In  the  German  edition  Luther  had  no  longer  expressed 
any  doubt  regarding  the  authorship  of  the  bull.  Instead  of 
repeating  his  appeals  to  the  Pope,  the  princes,  and  the 
bishops,  he  had  with  great  fervor  warned  all  Christian  people, 
and  tried  to  keep  them  from  being  misled  by  the  talk  of  such 
as  said:  The  curse  of  the  Pope  must  be  viewed  as  the  decla- 
ration of  the  universal  Church,  which  is  composed  of  all 
Christians,  and  as  made  the  people  gullible  with  their  asser- 
tion that  the  Pope  could  not  err.  Luther  had  also  replied  to 
the  charge  that  he  was  setting  the  laymen  at  the  throat  of  the 
Pope  and  the  priests,  and  had  charged  the  Pope  and  the 
clergy  themselves  with  doing  this,  because  with  their  blas- 
phemous and  scandalous  bull  they  were  inviting  their  own 
disaster. 

WoUild  there  be  any  cause  for  surprise,  he  exclaimed,  if  the 
princes,  the  nobility,  and  the  laymen  would  smite  the  Pope,  the 
bishops,  the  priests,  and  the  monks  on  the  head,  and  hustle  them 
out  of  the  country? 

Luther  had  also  held  up  to  the  authors  of  the  bull  the  fact 
that  they  had  distinguished  in  his  writings  between  "heret- 
ical," "misleading,''  "offensive''  statements,  and  such  as  were 
"intolerable  to  simple  people,"  and  had  nevertheless  con- 
demned all  these  statements  indiscriminately,  without  point- 
ing out  to  the  people  which  statements  belonged  in  these 
various  classes.  They  had  been  too  cowardly,  he  says, 
because  of  their  guilty,  insincere  conscience,  to  dare  to 
discuss  these  statements  in  a  clear  and  distinct  manner. 
Partly  to  justify  his  position,  partly  to  ward  off  misinterpre- 
tations and  perversions  of  his  position,  he  had  discussed  the 
principal  articles  condemned  by  the  bull. 

At  the  same  time  Luther  had  formally  renewed  before 
notaries,  on  November  17,  his  appeal  of  the  year  1518  to  a 
general  council  of  the  Church,  and  had  published  this  docu- 
ment in  Latin  and  German."^) 

A  request  had  then  come  to  Luther  from  the  Elector, 
Spalatin,  and  others  for  an  exhaustive  treatise  on  all   the 


7)   XV,  1602-1607. 


FAIR    WARNING.  5 

articles  that  had  been  condemned  in  the  buli.  On  this 
treatise  Luther  was  working  while  the  Elector  and  Spalatin 
were  at  Worms.  Then  had  followed  the  public  burning  of 
the  bull,  and  the  instruction  addressed  to  the  people  as  to 
what  this  act  meant. ^) 

That  done,  Luther  had  quietly  settled  down  to  his  peace- 
ful work.  When  Spalatin  called  at  Wittenberg  because  of 
the  excitement  caused  by  the  exodus  of  students,  he  had 
found  Luther  preparing  to  write  an  exposition  of  the  Mag- 
nificat. Spalatin  wrote  the  Elector  that  he  would  bring  with 
him  more  than  thirty  comforting  letters  which  had  been 
received  by  Luther  during  these  days  from  princes,  lords, 
and  very  learned  persons.^) 

From  now  till  he  started  for  the  Diet,  Luther  was  calmly 
watching  the  blind  tactics  of  the  Romanists.  On  December 
15  he  writes  to  Spalatin: — 

Bernard  Adelmann^o)  writes  that  at  the  instigation  of  Eck 
the  Bishop  of  Augsburgi^)  would  have  proceeded  against  him, 
if  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria  had  not  interceded  for  him.  Thus  this 
restless  man  is  raging.  He  also  writes  that  he  has  been  told  by  a 
credible  person  that  the  theologians  of  Paris  have  pronounced 
all  the  articles  condemned  in  the  bull  entirely  Christian,  except 
two.  which  they  consider  subject  to  debate.  The  same  report 
has  come  to  us  from  the  Netherlands.^^)  God  grant  that  this  be 
so,  or  that  it  will  so  happen! 

The  Cardinally)  of  Mayence  has  prohibited  my  writings  at 
Magdeburg  by  a  public  manifesto.  At  Halberstadt  they  were 
burned,!'*^  likewise  at  Kottbus  by  the  Minorites.    The  ass  Alvcld 


8)  DGR,  p.  289  ff. 

9)  KL,  I,  347;    SC,  i,  405. 

10)  DGR,  p.  268.  .Adelinanii,  whom  Eck  liad  included  in  the  bull  of 
e.NConimunication  against  I.uthcr,  was  threatened  with  the  loss  of  his 
prebend.  He  appealed  to  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria  for  protection,  and  to 
Eck  for  pardon,  November  8,  and  received  absolution  from  him,  Novem- 
ber   15.      In    his   letter   to    r.uther    he   seems   to   have   extenuated    his   action. 

n)   Christoph    von    Stadion,    May    14,    1517,    to   April    15,    1543. 

12)  Glarean  sends  the  same  report  to  Zwingli  from  Paris,  November 
1  (Zzt'inglii  Opera.  VII.  151),  and  as  late  as  May  11,  1521,  Meander  writes 
the  same  to  Cardinal   Medici.      (BAL,  p.   188.) 

13)  Lit.  "the  cardinal's  hat"  (galerus).  a  fur  cap.  worn  by  dukes  in 
the  Middle  .\ges.  and  accorded  to  cardinals  by  Innocent  IV  at  the  Council 
of  Lyons  in  1244. 

14)  Halberstadt  students  had  been  among  those  ordered  to  quit  Wilten 
berg;   see  DGR,   p.   291    f. 


6  FAIR    WARNING. 

has  again  written  against  me  ;i^)  but  I  treat  his  writing  with  con- 
tempt and  refuse  to  read  it.^^) 

On  January  14  Luther  informs  Staupitz : — 

They    have    burned    my    writings    three    times :    at    Louvain, 

Cologne,  and  Mayence,  but  at  the  latter  place  with  great  derision 

and  danger  to  those  who  did  it.^''') 

On  January  21  he  informs  Spalatin: — 
They  say  it  is  settled  that  the  Bishops  of  Misnia  and  Merse- 
burg  will  execute  the  bull.     The  Lord's  will  be  done.i^) 

On  February  17  he  reports  to  him  that  this  has  actually 
been  done  at  Merseburg  by  the  bishop,  "that  holy  man  and 
servant  of  the  Pope,"  and  relates: — 

At  Magdeburg  Emser's  book^^)  was  fastened  to  a  shameful 
place  with  this  note :  "Such  a  book  is  worthy  of  such  a  place." 
They  also  tied  a  rod  to  it,  to  signify  the  punishment  it  deserved.^o) 

On  February  27  he  informs  Spalatin : — 

It  is  of  no  use  that  my  tract  for  those  going  to  confession  is 
distributed  at  Merseburg  and  Misnia ;  they  are  burning  cartloads 
of  my  books.     Thus  these  saints  are  raving.21) 

On  March  6  he  reports  to  his  friend: — 

The  Bishop  of  Merseburg,  a  man  of  meek  pride  and  holy 
greed,  continues  in  the  service  which  he  is  rendering  God  by 
slaying  Christ  and  His  Word.  I  believe  there  never  was  a  man 
against  whom  such  angry  sermons  are  preached  from  the  pulpits 
as  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  are  shouting  forth  against 
me, — which  delights  me  wonderfully.  For  thus  they  reveal 
themselves  to  the  people,  and  the  thoughts  of  their  heart  are 
made  manifest,  now  that  the  Sign  has  been  set  up  that  is  spoken 
against.22) 

On  March  7  he  writes  to  Link  at  Nuremberg,  and  to 
Spalatin : — 


15)  The  writing  to  which  lAither  refers  is  probably  that  Regarding  the 
Married  Estate,  in  which  Alveld  contends  that  marriage  is  a  sacrament — a 
view  which  I.uthcr  had  denounced  in  his  Babylonian  Capti^'ity.  An  un- 
known author,  dissembling  as  a  jester,  wrote  a  reply  to  Alveld,  in  which 
he   "proves  from   Holy   Writ  that  priests   may  marry   wives." 

16)  XXIa,   325;   EB,   3,  20  ff. ;   SC,   1,   424. 

17)  XV,  2423;  EB,  3,  70;  cf.   DGR,  p.  277. 

18)  XV,  2494;  EB,  3,  75;  SC,  1,  445. 
*  19)    DGR,    p.    231    f. 

20)  XXIa,  332  f.;  EB,  3,  86  f . ;   SC,  1,  465  f. 

21)  XXIa,  334  f . ;  EB,  3,  89  f.;  SC,  1,  472  f. 
28)   XV,  2496  f.;  EB,  3,  98  f. 


HEADING  OFF  THE  STORM.  7 

The  bull  that  was  posted  at  Leipzig  was  dirtied  and  torn, 
likewise  at  Torgau  ;-^)  the  same  was  done  at  Doebeln,^^)  where 
somebody  wrote  a  note  underneath:  "The  nest  is  here,  but  the 
birds  are  flown." 

These  items  in  Luther's  correspondence  during  those 
days  are  not  mere  gossip  among  friends:  Luther  is  watching 
the  temper  of  his  foes  and  friends  because  he  foresees  a 
great  disturbance  of  the  public  peace.  He  wants  his  friends, 
particularly  Spalatin  and  his  friends  at  Worms,  to  do  the 
same.  He  sees  that  the  Romanists  are  bent  upon  rousing  the 
passions  of  the  mob  against  him,  and  are  insensible  to  the 
fact  that  this  weapon  will  be  fatal  to  themselves.2f>) 


2.     Heading  Off  the  Storm. 

The  bull  of  excommunication  neither  silenced  Luther,  as 
it  was  calculated  to  do,  nor  did  the  repressive  measures 
adopted  for  its  enforcement  put  a  quietus  to  the  Lutheran 
movement,  as  it  was  hoped  they  would.  Germany,  already 
restive  under  the  papal  oppression  for  some  time  previous 
to  Luther's  excommunication,  was  now  passing  into  a  state 
of  ferment  that  boded  dire  consequences  to  men  in  position 
to  feel  the  nation's  pulse.  The  correspondence  of  the  great 
men  of  those  times  is  filled  with  ominous  hints  of  a  great 
convulsion  of  the  body  politic  that  seems  imminent.  They 
issue  excited  warnings  to  one  another.  A  dread  of  the  im- 
mediate future  has  seized  both  sides  to  the  Luther  contro- 
versy;  either  side  suspects  and  accuses  the  other  of  dark, 
sinister,  and  terrible  designs;  Lutherans  are  warning  their 
friends  against  the  Papists,  Papists  are  preparing  their 
friends  for  a  Lutheran  onslaught.  Living  in  Germany — ■ 
that  is  the  sentiment  particularly  on  the  Roman  side — is  very 
much  like  living  on  a  volcano  that  may  become  active  any 
minute. 


23)  Torgau   was   under   the   jurisdiction    of   tlic    Bishop    of   Misnia,    who 
had   the   bull   posted    at   this   place   by    stealth. 

24)  Near    Leipzig. 

25)  XV,  2497  ff.;  EB,  3,  104  ff.;   SC,  1,  484  f. 


8  HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM. 

Archbishop  Albert  of  Mayence  writes  to  Pope  Leo:— 
I  have  studied  to  suppress  the  nascent  fury  of  Luther,  and  at 
the  very  first  I  warned  Your  Holiness  of  the  movement  which 
has  now,  alas !  become  a  mighty  conflagration  throughout  almost 
all  Germany.  I  left  nothing  undone  which  either  theologians 
or  jurists  advised  me  to  do. 

Under  the  terrifying  spell  of  this  movement  the  Arch- 
bishop has  felt  himself  partly  paralyzed  and  unable  to  exe- 
cute the  terms  of  the  bull  against  Luther.  He  hastens  to 
make  his  excuse : — 

Wherefore,  most  blessed  Father,  considering  not  so  much 
the  words  as  the  intent  of  the  present  commands  to  publish  the 
bull  in  the  dioceses  of  Mayence  and  Magdeburg  and  in  those  of 
my  reverend  suffragans,  I  am  now  doing  my  best,  with  the  advice 
of  the  nuncios  (Aleander  and  Caraccioli),  to  conciliate  the  favor 
of  the  secular  princes  without  which  every  effort  of  ours  will 
be  in  vain.  What  success  we  shall  have  I  know  not,  but  I  have 
good  hopes.26) 

This  meant  that  the  Archbishop  was  hoping  for  the  best 
while  expecting  the  worst — ever  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
optimistic  fool  on  the  eve  of  disaster. 

That  sensitive  psychometer  of  the  age,  registering 
promptly  every  depression  in  the  political  and  social  atmos- 
phere, Erasmus,  the  confidant  of  the  great  men  of  affairs 
all  over  Europe,  writes  to  the  imperial  couiaselor  Conrad 
Peutinger^'^)  from  Cologne,  November  9 : — 

T  know  that  you  have  no  leisure  to  read  all  sorts  of  letters, 
excellent  Sir,  nor  have  I  much  more  time  to  write,  yet  I  was 
induced  to   do   so   by  John    Faber,^^)    a   Dominican   theologian, 


20)  I.etter  of  an  uncertain  date  (about  Novemhcr  1,  1520),  and  from 
an  uncertain  place  (possibly  Mayence).  Reproduced  in  Boecking's  Collec- 
tion of  Hutten's  Epistles.     SC,   1,  382. 

27)  DGR,  pp.  154.  162.  171.  Peutingcr  of  Augsburg  (1465-1547) 
studied  in  Italy;  in  1507  he  was  appointed  town  clerk  of  his  native  city, 
in  the  service  of  which  he  discharged  various  missions,  and  was  made  im- 
perial counselor  by  Maximilian.  His  passion  was  the  study  of  antiquities, 
on  which  he  produced  several  works.      SC.  1,  110. 

2.S)  Of  Augsburg  (1470-1530);  studied  in  Italy  and  became  Dominican 
Prior  at  Augsburg.  lie  met  Erasmus  at  Louvain,  October,  1520,  and  with 
him  planned  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  Lutheran  schism,  composing  at  this 
time  at  Cologne,  with  Erasmus's  help,  the  Consilium  cujusdam  cupientis 
consuhnin  esse  .  .  .  ,  which  he  pressed  on  the  Emperor's  advisers.  SC, 
1,  390. 


HEADING    OFF    THE    STORM.  9 

whom  I  discovered,  by  careful  examination,  to  be  very  different 
from  some  of  that  brotherhood ;  for  besides  solid  learning,  in- 
tegrity, and  affability  I  found  in  him  excellent  judgment.  We 
have  often  consulted  on  the  method  of  composing  this  Lutheran 
tragedy  without  a  cataclysm  of  the  whole  globe.  For  what  lover 
of  mankind  is  not  moved  by  the  beginning  of  this  drama,  seeing 
that  there  is  imminent  peril,  unless  something  is  done,  that  it 
shall  lead  to  a  catastrophe  dangerous  to  Christianity?  The  most 
horrible  wars  are  often  started  by  trifles.  And  in  my  opinion 
Cicero  was  right  in  saying  that  an  unjust  peace  is  better  than 
the  justest  war.2»)  Now  this  drama  has  gone  further  than  I 
could  have  wished,  but  I  think  the  evil  is  curable;  certainly  it  is 
more  so  now  than  if  it  goes  on  increasing.  I  should  also  wish 
it  so  healed,  that  it  may  not  merely  be  suppressed  for  a  time  to 
become  worse  later,  as  happens  to  patients  when  physicians  cool 
their  fever  with  a  potion  without  bleeding,  or  to  those  who 
scarify  a  wound  which  has  not  been  sufficiently  cleansed. 

Some  think  that  severity  had  better  be  used,  and  Falser  would 
not  disagree  with  them,  did  he  not  fear  that  it  would  hardly  suc- 
ceed. He  says  that  it  is  not  sufficient  in  this  matter  to  follow 
your  inclination,  but  that  several  things  must  be  considered. 
First,  we  must  consult  the  dignity  of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  whom 
all  lovers  of  Christ  must  favor  as  Christ's  vicar,  lest  the  Gospel 
truth  should  suffer.  And  I  doubt  not  that  Leo  is  of  this  mind, 
that  he  considers  his  only  glory  to  lie  in  the  flourishing  of  the 
doctrine  of  his  Prince.  Faber  says  we  should  not  consider  only 
what  Luther  deserves,  or  what  people  favor  Luther,  but  what 
conduces  to  the  public  peace.  It  makes  a  great  difference  who 
the  people  are  that  lay  hands  on  this  evil,  and  with  what  medi- 
cines it  is  cured.  Some  mix  in  this  affair  only  to  exasperate  it 
with  their  misplaced  zeal,  and  double  it,  consulting  not  the 
autliority  of  the  Pope,  but  their  own  advantage.  Briefly,  they 
so  act  that  they  hurt  sound  learning  more  than  they  do  Lutlicr. 
For  it  is  not  right  that  innocent  or  rather  holy  studies  should 
suffer  on  account  of  Luther,  nor  ought  other  men.  withr»ut  cause, 
to  be  involved  in  this  affair.-^'^)  He  added  that  we  should  con- 
sider from  what  fmuit  the  whole  thing  flowed,  namely,  from 
hatred  of  good  learning.  .  .  . 

It  is  not  for  men  like  me  to  judge  the  Pope's  breves.  Rut 
there  were  some  who  missed  in  the  bull  brought  by  the  nuncio 
the  gentleness  worthy  of  Christ's  vicar  and  of  this  peaceful  Leo. 
and  they  impute  the  bull  not  to  him,  but  to  his  advisers.  .  .  . 


29)  Kpistle   VI,   6,   5. 

30)  Opp.  Ill,  1889;  SC,  1,   101   f. 


10  HEADING   OFF    THE   STORM. 

But  Faber  himself  will  explain  his  plan  more  fully  to  you 
in  person,  and  if  you  approve  it,  you  can  help  him  at  the  Diet  of 
Worms  to  carry  through  a  plan  which  all  will  approve."^) 

A  true  Erasmian  letter !  Halting  in  its  opinion,  defer- 
ential to  power,  full  of  the  cultured  Humanist's  refined 
selfishness,  which  crops  out  in  the  form  of  dread  that  the 
existing  state  of  affairs,  in  which  creatures  like  Erasmus 
thrive  best,  might  be  seriously  disturbed.  Erasmus  evi- 
dently knew^  more  than  he  cared  to  express  in  this  letter; 
but  what  he  said  was  said  with  the  distinct  purpose  of  im- 
pressing a  member  of  the  German  Diet  and  an  official 
adviser  of  Charles  V. 

From  the  Ebernburg  Hutten  writes  to  Bucer,*^^)  Novem- 
ber 25  :— 

I  hear  that  all  orders  of  men  are  greatly  grieved  at  the  act 
[the  burning  of  Luther's  books],  and  only  a  few  priests  were 
pleased  with  it.  I  hear  that  some  of  the  nobles  favor  Luther  so 
strongly  that  Sickingen  thinks  there  would  have  been  an  ex- 
tremely dangerous  rebellion  at  Cologne,  if  only  Frederick  of 
Saxony  had  been  there,  for  he  left  a  short  time  before.^^) 


31)  Erasmi  Opera,  III,  590;  SC,  1,  390. — The  dissimulation  which 
Erasmus  practised  at  this  time  can  be  seen  by  comparing  two  letters.  The 
first,  dated  at  the  Ebernburg,  November  13,  was  written  to  Erasmus  by 
Hutten,  who  treats  Erasmus  as  if  he  were  a  Lutheran.  "I  greatly  wonder 
what  you  are  doing  there  [at  Cologne],  where,  as  I  believe,  there  is  so 
much  hostility  to  us,  and  where,  as  I  hear,  the  mandates  of  Leo  X  are 
cruelly  executed.  Do  you  even  imagine  that  you  can  be  safe  while  Luther's 
books  are  burned,  and  that  his  condemnation  will  not  prejudice  your  cause, 
or  that  those  who  condemn  him  will  spare  you?  Fly,  fly,  and  keep  yourself 
for  us!  I  have  sufficient,  even  infinite  peril,  but  my  mind  is  used  to  danger 
and  to  whatever  fortune  may  bring.  With  you  it  is  different.  Fly,  excel- 
lent Erasmus;  fly  while  you  can,  before  some  disaster  falls  on  you,"  etc. 
SC,  1,  394.  In  the  other  letter,  of  November  20,  Oswald  Myconius  relates 
to  Rudolph  Clivanus  32)  at  Milan  this  humorous  episode:  "Would  you  like 
to  hear  something  ...  of  Erasmus?  I  will  tell  you  something.  lie  is  a 
scoundrel.  Hear  what  he  did.  He  was  summoned  by  the  king  of  England 
to  a  conference  [at  Calais,  July,  1.520].  The  king  patted  him  on  the 
shoulder  and  said,  'Erasmus,  why  don't  you  defend  that  good  Luther?' 
Erasmus  answered,  'Because  I  am  not  enough  of  a  theologian;  now  that  the 
professors  at  Louvain  have  put  me  down  as  a  grammarian,  I  don't  touch 
such  things.'  After  a  long  conversation  the  king  said,  'You  are  a  good 
man,  Erasmus,'  and  disnn'ssed  him  with  a  gift  of  fifty  ducats.  Then  Eras- 
mus went  to  Frankfort.  When  his  friends  came  to  see  him,  he  waved  them 
away.  'Look  out,'  he  said,  'don't  touch  me,'  and  held  out  his  hand  as  if  he 
feared  to  be  hurt.  When  they  expressed  sympathy  and  asked  him  what 
was  the  matter,  he  told  them  he  had  a  wound.  When  they  asked  him 
where,  he  replied,  'In  the  purse.'  Thus  he  tried  to  turn  the  bargain  into  a 
joke."  SC,  1,  396.  Dr.  Smith  questions  the  reliability  of  the  anecdote.  It 
comports,  however,  with   what  we  know  of  the  character  of   Erasmus. 

32)  Rudolph  zum  Buhl  (Clivanus)  1499-1578;  teacher  of  Greek  at 
Zurich   and  after   1519   a  friend   of  Zwingli.      CR,    XCIV,   339;    SC,   1,   396. 

33)  DGR,  p.  77. 

34)  From  Boecking,  /.   c.  I,   427;   SC,  1,  397. 


HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM.  11 

Capito^'^)  was  at  that  time  in  the  employ  of  Archbishop 
Albert,  and  was  seeking  to  obtain  a  prebend  at  Strassburg. 
It  is  therefore  not  purely  cordial  concern  for  Luther,  but  also 
self-interest,  that  makes  him  sum  up  the  critical  character 
of  the  times  in  a  letter  to  Luther  from  Mayence,  Decem- 
ber 4  :— 

You  have  often  blown  the  trumpet,  and  Hutten,  who  will  try 
arms,  shouts  war  for  us.  I  think  that  you  will  be  safe  there 
[at  the  Ebernburg.  Sickingen's  castle],  nor  shall  our  chief  lack 
an  asylum.  Our  enemies  are  protected  by  strong  bulwarks,  cas- 
tles, and  moats,  relying  on  money,  arms,  and  numerous  de- 
pendents. A  certain  popular  sentiment  is  for  you ;  not  the 
smallest  part,  however,  is  with  the  Romanists.  "Alas !"  the  latter 
exclaim,  "what  a  monstrous  state  of  affairs  this  is,  that  a  dwarf 
without  authority  should  with  impunity  call  into  question  the 
ancient  decretals !"  To  which  the  saner  reply :  "What  impiety  it 
is  to  extinguish  Christ's  doctrines  with  human  decretals  !"  Why 
do  I  say  all  this  ?  Only  to  show  that  everything  is  tending 
towards  a  tremendous  revolution,  of  which  the  outcome  is  uncer- 
tain. There  are  men  who  fear  that  such  a  strife  would  obliterate 
all  show  of  religion.  For  they  take  your  teachings  in  a  sinister 
way,  as  it  were. 

Some  one  has  written  a  satirical  dialog^^)  at  Cologne  against 
Hogstraten,  taxing  Eck  and  Aleander  with  the  burning  of  the 
books,  and  even  casting  some  aspersions  at  me,  who  certainly 
did  not  wish  the  books  burned,  but  did  conceal  my  opinion  about 
it.  Eck  wrote  back  furiously  to  Cologne.  Aleander  digests  the 
insult  in  silence,  making  not  very  witty  jokes  about  it;  therefore, 
he  has  been  branded  with  another  sharp  letter,  and  with  a  song 
by  no  means  bad,  and  with  another  more  learned  one  with  much 
gall  in  it.  .  .  .  He  burned  your  books  with  much  bluster  at 
Cologne.  .  .  .  He  was  hissed  by  the  people  as  a  Jew'*''^)  who  under 
the  pretext  of  religion  would  labor  for  the  glory  of  Moses,  as 


3.5)  DGR,  pp.  53.  144,  and  passim. — Capito  is  Wolfganp  Fabricius 
Koepfel  of  Ilagenau  (1478P-1541);  he  studied  at  Freiburg  and  Tngolstadt, 
when-  he  took  his  doctorate  in  divinity  by  1512.  In  151.3  he  went  to  I'.asU;. 
where  he  became  cathedral  preacher  and  professor  of  theology  in  the  uni- 
versity. In  1520  he  entered  the  service  of  Archbishop  Albert  of  Mayence. 
Three  years  later  he  declared  for  the  Reformation  and  went  to  Strassburg, 
at  which  place,  in  company  witii  Bucer,  he  occupied  a  leading  position  for 
the  rest  of  his  life,  taking  part  in  the  Synod  of  Bern  in  1532,  and  in  the 
Wittenberg  Concord  of  1536.  His  religious  views  were  already  advanced 
in  1513,  from  which  time  on  for  several  years  he  was  an  ardent  admirer  of 
Erasmus.      SC,    1,   71   f. 

3G)    The   Hochstratus  Ovaus,   reprinted  in    Boecking,   supplement   I,   402. 

37)    DRG,  p.  271. 


12  HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM. 

though  he  were  not  a  sincere  Christian,  having  been  recently  con- 
verted. The  people  are  of  two  minds.  The  shame  of  the  burn- 
ing terrified  some,  but  exasperated  the  hatred  of  many  against 
the  Romanists.  .  .  . 

I  see  that  what  I  always  feared  will  come  to  pass,  that 
tyranny  will  be  the  head  of  the  whole  business,  and  that  those 
who  do  all  things  with  cunning  do  not  see  that  what  is  below  the 
requirement  of  the  law  is  above  the  power  of  man  born  of  Adam. 
You  gather  what  1  hint  at;  turn  your  mind  back  to  former  times 
and  consider  what  bloody  wars  sprang  from  bloody  tyranny.  I 
want  Christ  to  be  strong  again ;  you  know  whether  He  prospers 
by  doing  or  by  suffering  violence.  Religion  was  born,  grew,  and 
became  strong  by  innocent,  unwarlike  men ;  by  suffering  wrong, 
the  unarmed  struck  arms  from  furious  hands.  I  have  not  noticed 
that  any  race  received  pure  religion  from  bloody  soldiers,  al- 
though I  know  that  the  ancient  Jewish  religion  (to  which  we  are 
in  many  respects  similar)  was  often  maintained  by  force.  I 
know  that  we  have  often  tried  to  do  the  same,  though  I  cannot 
say  with  much  piety  or  success,  since  our  religion  has  rather 
grown  weaker  thereby.  Wherefore,  pray,  deter  your  followers 
from  relying  on  arms.  I  understand  the  reason  for  your  plan, 
but  with  me  it  is  another  reason  to  the  contrary.  For  what  is 
deep-rooted  is  not  eradicated  all  at  once;  it  must  be  gradually 
torn  down  until  at  last  it  falls  under  the  hand  pushing  it.  Now 
that  everything  is  in  commotion,  every  one  who  knows  the  nature 
of  the  mob  can  see  what  a  revolution  and  what  passions  will 
result.  Therefore  I  see  no  hope  of  safety,  unless  with  calm 
mind  and  free  from  earthly  passions  we  come  together,  and  each 
yield  something  to  the  other.  If  the  evil  should  have  been  stirred 
up,  now  I  think  it  ought  to  be  quieted  again.  The  Lamb-*^^)  is 
able  to  make  all  things  new.  We  can  easily  stir  things  up,  but 
it  does  not  seem  within  our  power  to  settle  them  again ;  however, 
to  do  that  we  must  huml)ly  strive  for  Christ's  aid.  He  sees  what 
we  hardly  think  of.  I  frankly  confess  to  you,  dearest  brother, 
that  daily  I  more  and  more  doubt  about  this  business,  nor  do  I 
mean  this  ill.  For  practical  life  easily  teaches  us  how  small  an 
impulse  can  turn  the  people  either  to  good  or  evil.  I  do  not  say 
that  we  should  cease  doing  Christ's  work,  but  that  we  should 
pardon  the  coarse  people  for  much  of  what  they  are  doing. 
As  you  say,  some  things  are  necessary  to  the  Christian,  and  there 
are  some  things  expressly  overlooked  which  will  be  readily  un- 
derstood from  the  former.  You  have  recently  experienced  this 
yourself,  as  one  armed  in  a  holy  war  to  fight  daily  with  enemies 

38)   Rev.  21,  5. 


HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM.  13 

to  hold  your  positions.  Consider  our  weakness,  which  is  in  need 
of  milk  rather  than  of  strong  meat.-''')  Do  not  extinguish  the 
devotion  of  the  people  by  asking  too  much  of  them;  and  preach 
the  Word  of  Christ  not  from  strife,  but  from  charity.-*o)  xhig 
whole  foolish  letter  is,  as  you  know,  from  Capito,  who  desires  the 
best  for  Luther,  and  who  wishes  peace  and  is  striving  with  all 
his  might  for  concord.  I  doubt  not  that  you  desire  the  same, 
but  that  hitherto  your  adversaries  have  thwarted  you.  Their 
end  shall  be  death, ^^)  whether  they  were  born  of  contention,  or 
whether  they  were  begotten  of  guile,  sycophancy,  and  imposture. 
We  must  pray  for  peace  in  our  time  through  Jesus  Christ.  Fare- 
well in  Him,  Christian  soul,  dear  to  my  heart.42) 

The  popular  unrest  was  spreading  beyond  the  borders  of 
Germany.  From  Paris,  Henry  Glarean^^)  writes  to  Zwingli 
at  Zurich,  November  1 : — 

Now  hear  some  news  about  Luther !  When  the  debate  be- 
tween Geck^-*)  and  Luther  was  laid  before  the  University  of 
Paris  for  judgment,"*-^)  although  it  perhaps  would  have  censured 
some  of  the  articles,  now,  after  it  has  heard  that  Luther  is  con- 
demned by  the  Pope,  it  refrains  from  giving  judgment.  No  one's 
books  are  bought  more  eagerly.  A  certain  bookseller  told  me 
that  at  the  last  Frankfort  Fair  he  sold  fourteen  hundred  copies 


.30)    1    Cor.    3,    2. 

40)  Phil.    1,   16    f. 

41)  Phil.  .3,   19. 

43)    EB,   .3,   .3  ff.  ;   SC,  1,   405   ff. 

43)  Henry  Loriti,  of  Clarus  (1488-1563),  matriculated  at  Cologne  1506, 
M.  A.  1510,  matriculated  at  Rasle  1514,  where  for  a  time  he  worked  with 
Froben,  and  became  a  devoted  friend  of  Erasmus.  From  1517  to  1522  he 
was  at  Paris  teaching  school.  Thence  he  returned  to  Basle,  but  being 
unable  to  follow  his  friend  Zwingli  in  the  Reformation,  he  retired  to 
Freiburg  in  1529.  He  published  an  original  work  on  music  in  1547.  (Ilarean 
is  ]>articularly  interesting  to  Americans  for  having  made  the  first  map  of  the 
New  World  in  which  tlie  continent  is  called  America.  The  M.S.  of  this, 
dating  1513,  was  sold  by  Sotheby  in  1512.  It  was  printed  under  the  title 
l)e  (leographia,  in  1527,  at  Basle.     SC,  1,  383. 

44)  In  a  letter  to  Staupitz.  October  3.  1519.  Luther  writes:  "Letters 
have  come  from  France,  reporting  that  Erasmus  said:  'I  fear  -Martin  will 
perish  for  his  righteousness,'  and  of  Eck,  that  his  name  lacks  one  letter, 
and  he  should  be  called  'Jeck,'  which  is  the  Dutch  for  fool.  Thus  Christ 
beats  down  vainglory,  so  that  him  whom  Leipzig  adores  as  Eck,  all  learned 
nun  (they  say)  simi)ly  detest  as  'Jeck.'"  XV,  2452  f . ;  EB,  2,  184;  SC.  1. 
220.  In  1540  Eck  complained  of  this  taunt  in  his  Schutzred  KuuitUcher 
vuscliuht  wider  den  Catechisten  Andre  Hosandcr.  etc.,  saying:  "Wie  die 
Ehrendieb  mich  lang  in  vielerlei  Gestalt  malen  lassen,  auch  ein  Sau  ins 
Kartenspiel  gebracht,  gehobelt  (Eccius  Dedolatus),  gebraten,  jetz  Doctor 
Keck,  .  .  .  dann  Doctor  Geek,"  etc.  EB.  ibid.,  p.  186.— Here  C.larean  makes 
the  same  pun,  and  Zwingli  repeats  it  in  1524.  (Oft-.  ''J-  ^1)  "Jeck  is 
the  same  as  the  rare  English  word  *geck'  (fool),  used  by  Shakespeare: 
Cymbeline,  act  \',  scene  IV,  line  67."  SC,  1,  220.  In  modern  German 
"(Jeck"  means  "fop." 

45)  DLD,  p.   194. 


14  HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM. 

of  Luther's  works.  Something  altogether  unprecedented  in  the 
sale  of  books  of  any  author.  Everybody  speaks  well  of  Luther. 
Truly,  the  monk's  chain  is  long.46) 

In  accordance  with  instructions  received  from  Aleander, 
the  papal  nuncio  in  Switzerland,  Pucci,'*'^)  proposed  during 
the  Swiss  congress  at  Baden,  on  October  22,  the  burning  of 
Luther's  books.  Oswald  Myconius^^)  reports  the  event  to 
Zwnngli,  November  2: — 

You  know,  and  that,  much  more  clearly  than  I  do,  what  that 
Roman  rascal  who  is  with  us  proposed,  or  rather  commanded 
under  pain  of  excommunication.  .  .  .  First,  we  want  to  know  your 
opinion,  whether  we  ought  to  obey  or  not,  after  the  command 
shall  be  published,  and  then,  what  your  men  at  Zurich  decided 
to  do.  Briefly,  my  own  opinion  is  that  the  excommunication  is 
to  be  disregarded,  not  so  much  because  I  favor  Luther  as  that 
I  would  unwillingly  lose  the  money  I  spent  for  the  books,  and 
also  because  I  think  the  thing  is  too  unjust  to  be  obeyed.  When 
was  it  ever  heard  in  the  Church  that  any  one  should  be  con- 
demned before  he  had  a  chance  to  state  the  reasons  for  his  opin- 
ions, especially  when  he  particularly  wished  to  do  so  ?  It  is 
proclaimed  through  the  whole  town  here  that  Luther  and  the 
schoolmaster^^)  are  to  be  burned,  although  I  never  speak  of  him 
except  to  my  intimates,  and  that,  rarely ;  nor  have  I  ever  brought 
forward  a  single  opinion  from  him.^^)  Yet  I  know  why  they 
join  my  name  with  Luther's ;  it  is  because  in  my  classes  I  speak 
the  Gospel  truth,  and  say  what  the  subject  demands,  though  no 
more.  And  because  this  agrees  with  what  he  says  in  several 
places,  they  think  that  that  is  from  Luther,  which  is  really  from 
the  Gospel.  I  could  easily  answer  this  charge  If  necessary.  Yet 
I  would  not  willingly  lose  his  books,  for  I  have  not  one  or  two. 


4(5)   CR,   XCIV,   .3G0;    SC,   1,   383. 

47)  Lawrence  Pucci,  a  professor  of  law  at  Pisa,  papal  datary  under 
Julius  II,  given  the  red  hat  by  Leo  X  in  1513.  He  was  at  the  sack  of  Rome 
in   1527,  and   under  Clement  VII   Grand   Penitentiary.      SC,   1,   316. 

48)  Myconius  (also  Geisshuessler  and  Mueller)  of  Lucerne,  matriculated 
at  Basle  1510,  B.  A.  1514,  then  became  public  reader.  In  1516  he  went  to 
Zurich,  where  he  was  instrumental  in  getting  Zwingli  called.  In  the 
autumn  of  1519  he  returned  to  Lucerne  to  open  a  school,  which  he  had  to 
give  up  when  he  joined  the  Reformation  in  1522.  After  a  year  at  Einsiedeln 
he  came  early  in  1524  to  Zurich,  where  he  taught  school  after  Zwingli's 
death  (1531),  when  he  went  to  Basle  as  successor  to  Oecolampadius.  He 
died  here  in  1552.     SC,  1,  304. 

49)  Myconius  means  himself. 

50)  Dr.  Smith  remarks  pertinently:  "The  emphasis  upon  reliance  on 
the  Bible  independently  of  Luther  is  characteristic  of  the  Swiss  Reforma- 
tion." SC,  1,  3S4.  Zwingli  started  this  self-deception:  he  failed  to  see,  or 
acknowledge,  that  the  light  he  had  received  frorh  Luther  made  him  see 
truths  in  the  Scriptures. 


HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM.  15 

but  a  great  many.     Wherefore  advise  us,  and  wc  shall   follow 
your  advice.^i) 

Beatus  Rhcnanus-'*^)  informs  Boniface  Anicrbach"'-^)  at 
Avignon,  November  8 : — 

The  Pope  has  sent  Jerome  Aleander  with  a  monstrous  bull 
to  the  Emperor  to  induce  him  to  crush  Luther.  ...  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  the  Emperor  will  give  his  consent,  as  one  too  young 
to  understand  these  things.  The  whole  of  Germany  is  for 
Luther.  Huttcn  has  fairly  translated  the  Pope's  bull  which 
curses  Luther ;  that  is,  he  has  explained  and  mocked  it  with 
witty,  caustic  notes.  In  the  title-page  of  the  booklet  he  has  sur- 
rounded the  Pope's  arms  with  this  verse :  "At  his  right  hand 
stood  a  bull  in  cloth  of  gold  and  many-colored  garments."  You 
never  read  anything  more  cutting.*'*^)  For,  as  you  know,  the 
Pope  anathematized  liutten,  and  wrote  to  some  of  the  princes 
that  they  should  either  kill  him  or  send  him  bound  to  Rome. 
Hence  the  bitterness  of  his  invective.  Pucci,  who  tried  to  do 
much  against  Luther  in  Switzerland,  is  simply  despised.  You 
know  that  hitherto  Zasius^^)  favored  Luther.  Now  he  has  some- 
what changed  his  opinion,  because  Luther  wrote  it  would  be 
better  for  priests  to  have  wives  than  harlots.  .  .  .  The  Pope  has 
recently  condemned  Reuchlin's  article  to  please  the  monks,  whose 
help  the  needs,  and  to  spite  Luther.^^) 

From  Cologne  Francis  von  Sickingen-''")  writes  to  Luther, 
November  3: — 


51)  CR.  XCIV,  .305;  SC,  1,  383  f. 

52)  DRG,  p.  77. 

53)  Ibid.,  p.  300.  lie  was  horn  October  11,  14f)5.  died  April  5.  1.'')62. 
His  father  was  tUe  Basle  printer.  BonifaCc  A.  matriculated  there  l.'iOf), 
M.  A.  1513.  He  then  studied  law  with  Zasius  at  Freihurp,  and  with  Alciati 
at  Avignon,  May,  1o:,'n-1 524,  with  an  interval  of  May,  1521,  to  May.  1522, 
at  r»asle.  He  took  his  doctor's  degree  at  Avignon,  1525,  after  wliich  he 
spint  his  life  teaching  and  practising  law  at  Basle.  He  was  one  of  Kras- 
nius's  best   friends,  and  his  executor.      SC,  1,  221   f. 

54)  XV,    1425-1461. 

55)  DLD.  pp.  4,  8.  ITlrich  Zaesi  of  Constanz  (14(51 -November  24, 
1535)  matriculated  at  Tnebingcn.  14S1;  after  sonic  years  returned  as 
bishop's  notarv  to  Constance:  in  1401  he  went  to  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau 
as  town  clerk!  He  studied  law,  taking  his  doctorate  in  1500.  and  lectured 
on  poetrv  till  1506.  when  he  obtained  the  professorship  of  jurisprudence, 
which  he' held  till  the  end  of  his  life.     SC,  1,  188. 

56)  From  Briefwcchscl  d.  B.  Rhenaiius.  p.  250;   SC.  1,  389. 

57)  Sickingen  (1481,  May  7,  1523)  of  the  Ebcrnburg,  near  Kreuznach, 
a  knight  who  succeeded  his  father  in  150.-)  to  large  domains.  He  had  a  feud 
about  Worms  in  1513,  and  one  with  Hesse.  On  October  25,  1519,  he  was 
made  imperial  counselor  and  chamberlain.  He  was  interested  by  Huttcn  in 
the  cause  of  Reuehlin  and  I.uther.  In  1521  he  was  made  general  of  the 
armv  against  France,  but  failed  to  accomplish  much,  chiefly  through  lack 
of  funds.  In  1523  he  attacked  Treves  with  the  purpose  of  leading  an  insur- 
rection, but  was  defeated  and  killed  at  Landstuhl.     SC,  1,  275  f. 


16  HEADING   OFF   THE   STORM. 

I  received  your  last  two  letters  at  Cologne,  and  read  them, 
together  with  your  Offer  and  Protestation^^'),  and  have  heard 
what  George  Spalatin  has  to  say,  and  I  am  glad  to  learn  that 
you  are  minded  to  show  forth  the  Christian  truth  and  to  abide 
by  it.  I  am  inclined  to  give  you  what  help  and  favor  may  be  in 
my  power  for  this  end.  I  would  not  conceal  this  my  answer  to 
your  letter,  for  you  will  find  me  ready  to  do  you  any  favor  I 
can.  God  bless  you  and  govern  your  affair  according  to  His 
will.f59) 

In  this  group  of  letters  there  is  a  veiled  criticism  of 
Luther.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  criticism  comes  chiefly 
from  parties  that  were  in  close  touch  with  the  Romanists. 
Among  the  men  who  were  following  the  lead  of  Zwingli 
there  is  a  spirit  of  aloofness.  The  former  were  charging 
Luther  outright  with  planning  to  overthrow  the  established 
secular  order.  Luther  was  to  them  a  raving  bolshevik.  The 
latter  were  lukewarm  in  their  defense  of  Luther.  Even 
Spalatin  seems  to  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  warn  Luther 
against  inciting  the  passions  of  men  :  for  on  February  27 
Luther  writes  to  his  friend: — 

Take  care  lest  you  be  one  of  those  who  believe  the  people 
that  blame  me  for  excessive  bitterness  in  my  writings.  For  their 
object  is  to  sully  my  name,  since  they  cannot  do  anything  else. 
But  I  find  that  they  are,  as  a  rule,  persons  who  do  not  read, 
but  follow  the  reports  of  others.  Besides,  they  are  not  accus- 
tomed to  see  vices  cauterized.  I  am  not  conscious  yet  of  such 
fury  as  they  accuse  me  of.     Enough  said.^o) 

Roman  Catholic  historians  of  the  present  age  love  to 
draw  weird  pictures  of  the  revolutionary  Germany  which 
Luther's  writings  had  produced.  A  writer  in  the  Catholic 
Encyclopedia  informs  his  readers: — 

Germany  was  living  on  a  politico-religious  volcano.  All  walks 
of  life   were  in  a  convulsive  state  of  unrest  that  boded  ill   for 


58)  Upon  supRcstion  of  Elector  Frederick,  f.uther  had  addressed  a  let- 
ter to  Emperor  Charles  V  (DGR,  p.  261  f.).  At  the  same  time  T.uthcr 
drew  up  a  document  which  he  called  "Protestation  und  Erbieten"  (XV. 
1392-1397),  in  which  he  declares  that  he  has  never  knowingly  written  and 
taught  anything  contrary  to  the  divine  truth,  that  he  is  an  obedient  son 
of  the  Church,  and  that  he  would  gladly  keep  silence  if  his  adversaries 
would  let  him  do  so.  This  is  the  writing  to  which  .Siekingen  refers;  it  was 
intended  for  the  Emperor,  who  was  to  be  favorably  impressed  by  it  and 
inclined  toward  IvUther.  T5ut  it  failed  entirely  of  its  purpose  because  the 
Emperor   refused   to   read   it. 

59)  XV,   1637;    EB,   2,   506;   SC,   1,   384    f. 

60)  XXIa,  335;  EB,  3,  89  f.;  SC,  1,  472  f. 


HEADING  UfF   THE  STORM.  17 

Church  and  State.  Luther,  by  his  inflammatory  denunciation 
of  Pope  and  clergy,  let  loose  a  veritable  hurricane  of  liercc, 
uncontrollable  racial  and  religious  hatred,  which  was  to  spend 
itself  in  the  Peasants'  War  and  the  orgies  of  the  sack  of 
Ronie;^')  his  adroit  juxtaposition  of  the  relative  wealth  and 
powers  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  estates  fostered  jealousy 
and  fed  avarice;  the  chicanery  of  the  revolutionary  propagandists 
and  pamphleteering  poetasters  lit  up  the  nation  with  rhetorical 
iireworks,  in  wliicli  sedition  and  impiety,  artfully  garbed  in 
Biblical  phraseology  and  sanctimonious  platitudes,  posed  as 
"evangelical"  liberty  and  pure  patriotism.  The  restive  peasants, 
victitns  of  oppression  and  poverty,  after  futile  sporadic  uprisings, 
lapsed  into  stifled,  but  sullen  and  resentful  malcontents;  the  un- 
redressed wrongs  of  the  burghers  and  laborers  in  the  populous 
cities  clamored  for  a  change,  and  the  victims  were  prepared  to 
adopt  any  method  to  shake  off  disabilities  daily  becoming  more 
irksome.  The  increasing  expense  of  living,  the  decreasing  eco- 
nomic advancement,  goaded  the  impecunious  knights  to  despera- 
tion, their  very  lives  since  1495  being  nothing  more  than  a 
struggle  for  existence.  (Maurenbrecher,  Studicn  u.  Sk{::cc>i,  p. 
246.)  The  territorial  lords  cast  envious  eyes  on  the  teaming 
fields  of  the  monasteries,  and  did  not  scruple  in  the  vision  of  a 
future  German  autonomy  to  treat  even  the  "Spanish"  sovereign 
with  dictatorial  arrogance  and  tolerant  complacency.  The  city  of 
Worms  itself  was  within  the  grasp  of  a  reign  of  lawlessness, 
debauchery,  and  murder.  (Jansen,  Hist.  II,  162.)  From  the 
bristling  El)ernburg.  Sickingen's  lair,  only  six  miles  from  the 
city,  Huttcn  was  hurling  his  truculent  philippics,  threatening 
with  outrage  and  death  the  legate  (whom  he  failed  to  waylay), 
the  spiritual  princes  and  church  dignitaries,  not  sparing  even 
the  emperor,  whose  pension  as  a  bribe  to  silence  had  hardly  lieen 
received.  Germany  was  in  a  reign  of  terror ;  consternation 
seemed  to  paralyze  all  minds.  A  fatal  blow  was  to  lie  struck  at 
the  clergy,  it  was  whispered,  and  then  the  famished  knights 
would  scramble  for  their  property.  Over  all  loomed  the  for- 
midable apparition  of  Sickingen.  He  was  in  .Meander's  opinion 
"sole  king  of  Germany  now;  for  he  has  a  following  when  and 
as  large  as  he  wishes.  The  emperor  is  unprotected,  the  princes 
are  inactive,  the  prelates  quake  with  fear.  Sickingen  at  the 
moment  is  the  terror  of  Germany,  before  whom  all  quail." 
(Brieger,  Alcandcr  u.  Luther,  p.  125.)  "If  a  proper  leader  could 
be  found,  the  elements  of  revolution  were  already  at  hand,  and 


r.l)    This    is    nothing    else    than    the    fallacy    of    Post    hoc    propter    hoc. 
DLER,  chap.   23:     "Luther  Anarchist,"  etc.,  p.   178  flF. 

DAV,    TRIBUNAL    OF    C.aESAR.  2 


18  HEADING  OFF  THE  STORM. 

only  awaited  the  signal  for  an  outbreak."     (Maurenbrecher,  /.  c, 
p.  246.)  62) 

This  is  not  history,  but  melodrama.  The  original  for  the 
whole  of  it — not  only  for  the  last  part — is  contained  in  the 
dispatches  which  that  coward  and  habitual  prevaricator, 
Aleander,  sent  to  Rome  from  Worms.  In  the  foregoing- 
account  events  that  lie  apart  are  synchronized.  Luther  is 
lloaded  with  the  blame  for  social  and  economical  conditions 
which  existed  before  Luther  was  born,  and  for  which  greedy 
Roman  priests  and  bishops  were  responsible.  Worldly 
aspirations  that  Luther  never  endorsed  are  fathered  upon 
him.  That  Hutten,  with  all  his  linguistic  bravado,  was  re- 
garded as  a  moral  coward,  "a  dog  that  barks,  but  does  not 
bite'';  that  he  was  bought  by  Glapion  during  the  Diet  for 
four  hundred  gulden,  while  the  formidable  Sickingen  was 
bribed  with  a  generalship  in  the  imperial  army ;  that  the 
perfect  rottenness  of  public  morals  at  Worms  during  the 
Diet  was  thoroughly  Italian  and  Spanish;  that  the  signal  for 
revolt  was  never  given  by  the  man  who  was  expected  to  give 
it, — all  these  details  have  escaped  this  Catholic  reviewer. 

But  did  not  Luther  tell  the  people  they  should  strike  the 
priests  on  the  head  and  bathe  their  hands  in  the  blood  of 
monks?  Did  he  not  call  the  German  knights,  and  even  the 
Emperor,  to  arms  against  the  papacy?  Did  he  not  have  a 
secret  understanding  with  Sickingen  and  Hutten  ?  No.  What 
Luther  did  say  was,  that  he  would  not  be  surprised  if  the 
reckless  priests  and  monks  would  come  to  grief.  Luther 
saw  that  the  people  were  driven  to  the  point  where  their 
patience  would  come  to  an  end,  and  that  Rome  was  doing 
the  driving.  Luther  urged  the  nobility  of  Germany  to  pass 
laws  and  ordinances  by  which  the  oppressive  measures  of 
Rome  would  be  abrogated.  Luther  never  was  in  a  political 
alliance  with  the  knights  of  the  Ebernburg.  They  had  ap- 
proached Luther,  and  Luther  had  for  a  brief  season  become 
interested  in  them  as  in  people  that  had  just  grievances 
against   the   Roman   hierarchy.     The   spirit  of  the  restlessly 


02)  H.   G.   Ganss,   in   Cath.   EncycL,   IX,   446   f. 


HEADING  OFF  THE  STORM.  19 

plotting-,  yet  ever  diffident  Hntten  was  not  revealed  to  Luther 
until  the  end  of  1520.  He  had  expressed  satisfaction  with 
Hutten's  spirited  writing,  and  when  he  was  told  of  Hutten's 
miscarried  attempt  to  kidnap  the  two  papal  nuncios  on  their 
way  from  Mayence  to  Worms  he  had  laughingly  exclaimed : 
"If  he  had  only  caught  them  I''^-"^)  But  on  December  9  he 
received  a  letter  from  Huttcn.in  which  the  knight,  bursting 
with  ungratified  ambition,  bewailed  his  disappointments  and 
his  inward  unrest;  he  would  like  to  hurl  himself  against  the 
Romanists,  but  his  powerful  friend  Sickingen,  he  complains, 
is  always  restraining  him.  Hence  he  is  forced  to  do  his 
noble  work  on  the  quiet:  yearning  to  descend  upon  the 
Papists  like  the  eagle  upon  his  quarry,  he  must  work  like 
a  mole.  He  suggests  to  Luther  that  it  would  be  valuable 
information  to  him  and  all  who  are  ready  to  meet  Rome 
by  force  of  arms^-')  to  know  the  Elector's  attitude  towards 
such  an  aggressive  enterprise.  This  opened  Luther's  eyes, 
and  now  that  he  had  had  a  glimpse  of  Hutten's  revolutionary 
plans,  he  wrote  to  Spalatin  : — 

Behold  Hutten's  book.  .  .  .  Good  God!  what  will  be  the  end 
of  these  novel  schemes  P^^)  I  begin  to  regard  the  papacy,  hitherto 
invincible,  as  apt  to  be  overthrown,  contrary  to  the  general 
opinion,  or  else  the  last  day  is  at  hand.66) 

On  January   16  he  wrote  his   friend: — 

I  am  sending  you  Hutten's  letter  to  me,  together  with  his 
(edition  of  the)  bull  and  other  writings  of  his-^^"^)  .  .  .  What  he 
is  aiming  at  you  see.  I  would  have  no  fighting  done  in  behalf 
of  the  Gospel  with  force  and  slaughter.     I  wrote  the  man  to  that 


63)  Catholic  writers  report  Lutlier's  remark  thus:  "If  he  had  only 
murdered   them!" 

04)   XX la,    319. 

65)  "Hutten's  book"  contained  letters  to  the  Emperor,  to  the  princes 
and  men  of  Germany,  to  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  to  the  Elector  Frederick, 
and    to   the   other    Electors. 

66)  XXIa,   325;    EB,   3,   29;   SB,   1,   423. 

6?)  This  is  the  letter  of  December  9.  Hutten's  edition  of  the  bull 
n.isttrge  Do))iiiie  is  his  most  spirited  product.  The  other  writings  wert-: 
/['(///  oz'cr  the  Burning  of  Luther's  Books  at  Mayence;  Wail  and  Exhorta- 
tion because  of  the  Excessive,  Unchristian  Poxvcr  of  the  Pope,  and  of  His 
Unspiritiial   Spirituals. 


20  ^  HEADING  OFF  THE  STORM. 

effect.^^)  With  the  Word  the  world  has  been  overcome,^^)  and 
the  Church  preserved ;  with  the  Word  it  will  also  be  restored. 
However,  Antichrist,  too,  as  he  started  [his  career]  without  vio- 
lence, so  will  he  also  be  crushed  without  violence,  by  the  Word^^) 

On  February  27  Luther  wrote  Spalatin : — 
The  Lord  Himself  alone  is  the  Author  and  Protector  of  His 
Word ;  however,  we  are  pleased  that  for  the  time  being  the  fury 
of  our  enemies  is  delayed  by  the  counsel  of  God ;  for  when  it 
breaks  forth,  all  predict  that  it  will  be  an  uprising  similar  to  that 
[of  the  Hussites]  in  Bohemia,  and  that  it  will  be  directed  also 
against  our  clergy.  1  am  blameless ;  for  my  aim  has  been  that 
the  nobility  of  Germany  should  set  bounds  to  these  Romanists, 
not  with  the  sword,  but  with  wise  counsels  and  decrees,  which 
they  can  easily  do.  For  to  wage  war  on  the  unarmed  crowd  of 
clergymen  is  the  same  as  to  wage  war  on  women  and  children. 
But  I  am  afraid  that  the  fury  of  the  Romanists  cannot  be 
quenched  by  wise  counsels  and  decrees,  and  that  their  stubborn- 
ness in  this  fury  will  itself  bring  disaster  on  their  heads.'^'i) 

When  Luther  wrote  this  letter,  he  had  already  been  in- 
formed of  a  monstrous  threat  of  Aleander,  and  had  reported 
it  to  Link: — 

Spalatin  writes  that  Aleander  dared  to  say :  "Even  if  you 
Germans,  who  pay  less  than  any  other  nation  to  the  Pope,  should 
break  the  yoke  of  Rome,  yet  will  we  take  care  that  you  shall 
be  consumed  by  mutual  slaughter  and  perish  in  your  own  blood." 
This  is  his  news.  I  always  said  and  wrote  that  the  Romans 
cherished  this  monstrous  plan  against  us.  Behold  how  the  Pope 
feeds  Christ's  sheep  I"^) 


08)  Tliis  letter  did  not  reacli  Ilutten,  who  writes  in  a  letter  to  Spalatin, 
January  10:  "What  may  be  the  reason  why  Lnther  does  not  even  write  nie 
a  word?"  Spalatin  seems  to  have  forwarded  this  new  "wail"  of  the  knight 
to  Luther;  for  on  February  17  Luther  writes  to  Spalatin:  "What  wind  has 
blown  away  all  that  I  wrote  to  Hutten  ?  I  know  not  why  I  should  try  so 
hard  to  keep  writing  and  sending  things."  It  seems  that  both  the  outgoing 
and  the  incoming  mail  of  Luther  was  very  irregularly  delivered.  In  the 
letter  from  which  we  have  just  quoted,  Luther  says  to  his  friend:  "I  hope 
that  my  letters  and  books  have  at  last  reached  you.  I  wonder  what  pre- 
vented your  getting  them  sooner,  as  in  the  mean  time  I  have  received  two 
letters  from  you,  neither  of  which  mentions  your  getting  mine."  XXIa,  .332; 
I'ZB,  3,  86;  SC,  1,  465.  In  his  letter  to  Spalatin  of  January  16  Luther 
encloses  letters  from  i3ucer,  and  says  that  one  of  them  had  been  delivered 
to  him  in  a  mutilated  condition,  "possibly  through  being  rubbed  somehow 
by  the  messenger."  XV,  2505;  EB,  3,  73;  SC,  1,  442.  On  February  9  he 
writes  to  Staupitz:  "I  am  surprised  that  you  have  not  received  my  letter 
and  pamphlets,  as  I  gather  from  vour  letter"  (to  Link)  XV,  2424;  EB, 
3,   83;    SC,   1,    108.  • 

69)  1    lohn  5,   4. 

70)  XV,   2505;   EB,  3,   73;   SC,   1,   442;   see  PHY,   pp.   31 G   fif. 

71)  XX  Fa,   334;   EB,  3,89;   SC,  1,   472. 
73)    XV,  1710;  EB,  3,  79;   SC,  1,  451. 


HEADING  OFF  THE  STORM.  21 

There  was  a  way  even  in 'Luther's  day  for  controlling  and 
forming  that  awe-inspiring  phenomenon  known  as  "public 
opinion."  It  may  not  have  been  as  gigantic  in  proportion 
nor  as  efficient  as  a  campaign  by  the  Northcliffc  press  or  the 
great  free  American  press,  but  it  was  able  to  do  its  con- 
temptible work  then  as  now.  Luther  must  have  received  a 
sample  of  its  workmanship  when  he  found  it  necessary  to 
write  to  Link  at  Nuremberg,  one  of  his  closest  friends,  on 
January  14. — 

I  am  greatly  surprised  at  your  suggestion,  z'i::.,  that  I  should 
publish  a  book  and  testify,  that  1  have  written  nothing  against 
the  civil  power;  for  all  my  writings  show  that  I  have  done  the 
opposite.  But  who  can  stop  the  mouth  of  everybody,  when  the 
majority  will  not  read  my  writings,  solely  because  they  have 
been  told  that  my  writings  cannot  be  read  without  being  repre- 
hended or  disbelieved?  Against  such  shameless  men,  what  can 
I  do?73) 

Very  true  !  Against  a  league  of  liars  the  individual  is 
powerless. 

The  real  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  Germany  in  Luther's 
time  were  the  champions  of  the  old  ecclesiastical  regime. 
They  were  ruthless  men,  ready  to  take  desperate  chances. 
They  were  contemplating  dire  measures  in  revenge  for  the 
wrecking  of  their  usurped  authority  and  the  revenues  that 
were  slipping  from  them.  By  their  impudent  bearing  and 
extortionate  demands  they  were  constantly  provoking  men 
to  violent  acts,  and  at  the  same  time  they  were  assiduously 
circulating  dreadful  reports  of  approaching  political  con- 
vulsions which  they  were  bringing  on.  A  few  of  them  may 
have  been  sincere  in  the  fears  tliey  expressed.  P>y  an  odd 
psychological  process  the  partisan  mind  of  bigots  beholds 
disaster  resulting  from  its  schemes,  and  dreads  disaster,  but 
keeps  on  forcing  the  issue,  somewhat  like  tiie  confirmed 
drunkard  who  has  been  known  to  loathe  the  drink  which  he 
knows  is  ruining  him,  and  yet  persists  in  his  dissipation. 
While  pushing  their  provoking  and  irritating  measures  fur- 
ther  and    furtlier,   the   leading   Romanists   were   dexterously 


73)    XV,  2507;  EB,  3,  72;   SC.  1,  441. 


22  LAW   VERSUS   JUSTICE. 

throwing-  on  Luther  the  odium  for  any  disturbance  of  the 
public  peace  of  Germany  that  might  arise  from  their  acts. 
They  were  not  in  favor  of  a  peaceful  and  equitable  settle- 
ment of  the  differences  between  the  reform  party  and  the 
Curia,  because  they  could  not  hope  for  any  good  to  result 
from  such  a  settlement  for  their  autocratic  policies.  Their 
motto  was  the  motto  of  all  tyrants :  Rule  or  ruin !  Luther, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  all  his  fighting  and  remonstrances, 
was  a  man  of  peace,  and  his  waitings  were  instruments  of 
fundamental  and  genuine  peace.  Also  his  journey  to  Worms 
turned  out  a  peace-measure  that  kept  the  dogs  of  war  in 
leash  to  the  end  of  his  life. 


3.  Law  Versus  Justice. 

In  the  popular  view,  Luther's  appearance  before  the 
German  Diet  is  regarded  as  the  last  legal  stage  in  his  trial 
for  heresy.  The  actual  events  at  Luther's  hearing  at  Worms 
lend  some  color  to  this  view;  for  Luther  was  brought  into 
the  Diet  as  a  heretic  and  asked  to  recant  his  teachings;  he 
spoke  in  his  own  defense;  and  he  was  finally  outlawed  as  a 
heretic  by  an  imperial  decree  with  the  consent  of  the  Diet. 
Nevertheless,  Luther's  hearing  before  the  Diet  was  not  a 
legal,  but,  in  the  view  of  all  who  knew  the  law  in  the  case, 
a  rather  illegal  act.  With  the  publication  of  the  bull  of 
excommunication  against  Luther  the  case  of  ''The  Church  vs. 
Friar  Martin,  the  heretic"  had  been  legally  terminated. 
There  had  been  a  due  process,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest 
tribunal.  From  the  first  canonical  admonition  mildly  ad- 
ministered to  Luther  by  his  immediate  superior.  Bishop 
Scultetus  of  Brandenburg,  to  the  last  admonition  solemnly 
and  dramatically  delivered  by  the  Supreme  Pontiff  on  June 
15,  1520,  the  case  had  advanced  along  the  normal  lines  of  the 
jus  canonicum.  By  his  twofold  Appeal  from  the  Pope  III 
Informed  to  the  Pope  to  be  Better  Informed,  and  to  a  General 
Council  of  the  Church,  Luther  himself  had  entered  into  the 
juridical    spirit   of   the   affair.     What   objections   had   been 


LAW    VERSUS   JUSTICE.  23 

raised  at  particular  points  during  the  unusually  long  trial 
Jiad  been  raised,  not  so  much  against  the  fact  that  such  a 
process  was  at  all  attempted,  as  rather  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  not  properly  conducted.  When  the  time  of  grace  fixed 
by  the  bull  Bxsiirgc  Dominc  had  expired,  Luther's  case  had 
become  res  adjudicata,  a  matter  duly  settled  by  law,  namely, 
by  the  law  of  the  Church,  which  was  the  only  law  applicable 
in  the  case.  The  later  bull,  which  was  issued  against  Luther 
after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  grace,  expressed  this 
viewJ^) 

Accordingly,  the  reverend  prosecutors  and  judges  of 
Luther  felt  that  they  had  just  cause  for  surprise  when  they 
received  evidence  upon  evidence  that  the  famous  case  which 
they  had  settled  was  not  at  all  considered  settled  in  certain 
quarters,  yea,  that  the  settlement  was  denounced  as  in- 
famous. Their  Curia  certainly  was,  by  precept  and  prece- 
dent, the  only  court  that  had  jurisdiction  in  a  case  of  this 
nature.  The  matter  for  which  they  had  tried  and  condemned 
Luther  was  a  canonical  offense,  cognizable  by  them.  And 
the  authority  of  the  Pope,  on  which  rested  the  final  verdict 
rendered  against  Luther,  they  held,  could  not  be  disputed. 
Still,  there  was  not  only  much  open  and  much  more  concealed 
dissent  from  their  decision,  but  there  was  an  actual  deter- 
mination to  reopen  Luther's  case  after  it  had  been  decided 
by  the  Pope,  and  to  turn  the  German  Diet  into  a  court  of 
revision. 

On  December  14  Aleander  sent  a  long  dispatch  from 
Worms  to  his  employer  at  Romc'''-''^  in  which  he  describes  his 
successes  and  failures  since  November  28  (the  date  of  his 
previous  dispatch)  in  having  the  bull  against  Luther  exe- 
cuted:— 

I  told  you  that  on  account  of  the  brevity  of  tlic  luupcror's 
stay  at  MayenceJ^)  and  on  account  of  the  Archbishop's  occupa- 
tion with  other  business,  and.  to  speak  frankly,  on  account  of  the 


74)  XV,   1704-1710. 

75)  Vice-Chancellor  Julius  de'  Medici,  born  147S.  made  Archhisliop  of 
Florence  and  Cardinal,  1513,  was  elected  Pope,  as  Clement  \  II,  in  lo2.1. 
3nd  died  in  1534. 

76)  Charles  V  tarried  at  Maycnce  from  November  23  to  2S. 


24  LAW    VERSUS   JUSTICE. 

evil  animus  of  the  counselors  who  were  trusted  with  the  Lutheran 
affairj")  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the  citizens 
(who  have  always  been  worthless,  and  who  played  me  an  ugly 
trick)  J'*^>  it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  execute  the  bull. 

Now,  however,  I  must  relate  that,  on  the  very  evening  after 
the  dispatch  of  my  previous  letter,  the  Cardinal  [of  Mayence] 
expressed  his  extreme  displeasure  that  his  subjects  had  not  acted 
as  the  citizens  of  other  cities  acted,  and  he  promised  to  make 
good  the  fault  which  was  excused  by  his  officers.  So,  on  the 
following  morning,  November  29,  he  had  the  condemnation  of 
the  books  [of  Luther]  announced  with  blare  of  trumpets  in  all 
the  city,  and  invited  the  people  to  the  public  burning  of  the  same. 
So  it  happened,  although  the  cardinal,  as  he  said,  was  annoyed 
the  whole  night  by  many  importunate  noblemen,  who  advised 
him  against  the  burning  and  would  not  let  him  sleep,  that  it  all 
turned  out  happily  in  the  end. 

These  rascal  Lutherans  in  disguise  pretend  to  act  in  our 
interest  in  advising  against  burning  the  books,  so  that,  as  they 
say,  we  may  not  thereby  arouse  more  hostility.  As  if  that  were 
possible !  Nevertheless,  after  careful  consideration,  it  seems  that 
this  course  is  useful  and  wholesome.  For  in  the  first  place,  the 
condemnation  of  such  writings  in  Germany  and  other  countries 
is  more  surely  made  known  by  burning  them  than  it  would  be  by 
communicating  the  bull  to  the  bishops  and  their  agents,  although 
I  have  not  neglected  to  do  this  also  in  all  quarters.  Again,  such 
an  execution  of  judgment  by  papal  and  imperial  power  makes 
so  deep  an  impression  on  the  laity,  who  are  always  tainted  by 
the  sermons  and  tracts  of  this  heretic,  a  thousand  times  worse 
than  Arius,  that  many  of  them  become  convinced  of  the  badness 


77)  Among    ihem    Capito. 

78)  ITedio  79)  writes  to  Zvvingli,  December  21:  "We  burned  Luther 
here  in  obedience  to  tbe  Pope's  decree,  but  it  was  a  ridiculous  affair. 
Some  swear  that  it  was  not  Lvither  that  was  burned,  but  Aeneas  Sylvius;  80) 
some,  that  it  was  Kck;  and  some  Prierias.  P>ut  whatever  books  were 
burned,  it  was  done  to  hurt  Luther.  The  people  almost  threw  Aleander 
into  a  cesspool.  It  has  been  decreed  by  the  council  of  princes  to  summon 
lAither  to  Worms  to  give  an  answer  for  his  writings.  Good  heavens,  how 
the  Roman  legates  withstand  this!  They  don't  want  a  heretic  to  be  heard. 
They  make  many  threats,  but  T  think  their  efforts  arc  vain.  We  shall 
soon   sec  what  will  happen."    CR,  XCTV,   376;   SC,   1,   430. 


79')  Caspar  ITeyd,  of  Baden  (1494-1552),  a  graduate  of  Freiburg  (1516), 
chaplain  at  Basle,  1519,  whence  he  wrote  Luther  a  letter  June  23,  1520 
(W,  1377;  EB,  2,  421),  thence  removed  to  Mayence,  and  finally  settled  at 
Strassburg,  where  he  was  one  of  the  leading  reformers  until  his  death, 
SC,  1,  368. 

SO)   Aeneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini,  later  Pope  Pius  II,  1458-1464. 


r.AW   VERSUS   JUSTICE.  25 

of  the  condemned  writings,  and  by  a  common  impulse  give  them 
freely  to  the  flames.  I  have  been  completely  decided  for  the 
advisability  of  these  measures  by  observing  that  all  those  who 
advise  us  against  them  are  found  to  be  without  exception 
Lutherans,  and  that  avowed  Lutherans  also  do  their  best,  by 
fraud  or  force,  to  prevent  the  burning.  Tn  short,  there  is  no 
better  method  whatever  at  all  effective,  if  this  scoundrel  will 
not  be  moved  to   recantation. 

Aleander  now  describes  his  journey  from  Mayence  to 
Worms,  and  the  warning  he  had  received  from  Treves  to 
beware  of  being  waylaid  by  Hutten,  and  tlien  proceeds: — 

Alas !  for  some  reasons  unknown  to  me,  the  sky,  which  has 
hitherto  been  so  clear,  seems  to  have  become  cloudy  at  \V^)rms. 
and  the  hitherto  so  fortunate  journey  of  our  little  boat  has  met 
with  a  check. 

As  previously  related,  I  obtained  from  the  Emperor  a  man- 
date against  the  writings  of  Luther  and  all  others  who  attacked 
the  Pope  and  the  Holy  See,  for  the  imperial  hereditary  dominions 
and  kingdoms.  I  always  carry  it  with  me.  At  present  we  request 
urgently  a  mandate  good  for  the  whole  Empire  and  threatening 
the  ban ;  for  the  imperial  counselors,  before  the  coronation  at 
Aix,  stated  that  they  could  not  at  that  time  draw  up  such  an 
edict,  although  according  to  the  decree  of  the  Lateran  Council 
it  is  desirable,  yea,  indispensable,  as  a  weapon  against  Luther's 
person  and  against  his  printers.  Now,  however,  the  imperialists 
are  sullenly  crawling  behind  the  worthless  excuse  that  the  con- 
demnation of  a  German  unheard  by  them  would  cause  grave 
scandal ;  wherefore  they  say  it  is  advisable  to  hear  him  and  to 
summon  him  to  the  Diet.  Yet  they  say  that  he  shall  only  come 
to  recant,  and  therefore  they  have  already  in  good  faith  requested 
the  Elector  to  bring  him  to  the  Diet.  Others  again  advise  him 
to  demand  only  the  recantation  of  the  opinions  condemned  by 
general  councils  and  emperors.  So  it  appears  that  they  make 
al)solutely  no  mention  of  the  present  Pope  and  his  predecessors, 
and  leave  the  question  of  papal  primacy  undiscussed.  What  ras- 
cality! Contrariwise,  we  represent  to  them  that  there  can  be  no 
question  of  trial  or  investigation  of  that  which  is  only  too  loudly 
proclaimed  by  Luther's  writings;  that  in  earlier  times  many 
heretics  were  thus  condemned  by  the  Popes,  who  have  sole 
jurisdiction  in  such  cases,  whereas  princes  were  obliged  to  execute 
the  punishment  at  the  demand  of  the  Pope;  that  tinally.  as  St. 
Jerome  teaches  in  his  work  against  the  Luciferians,  "the  safety 
of  the  Church   depends  on  the  absolute  and  supreme  power  of 


26  LAW   VERSUS   JUSTICE. 

the   Pope;    for  otherwise   there   would   be   as   many   schisms   as 
priests."^!/* 

Aleander  states  the  case  correctly  from  the  papal  view- 
point. According  to  the  teaching  of  Rome,  the  Pope  has 
been  given  two  swords,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,^^)  t^g  Word 
of  God,  by  means  of  which  he  determines  what  the  faith 
of  Christians  is,  and  the  secular  sword,  the  authority  of  civil 
magistrates,  who  are  to  support  the  Pope's  spiritual  author- 
ity. All  medieval  history  is  dominated  by  this  naughty  prin- 
ciple of  papocaesarism,^"')  that  is,  the  appropriation  of  secu- 
lar authority  by  a  religionist  because  of  his  religion.  Pro- 
ceedings against  heretics  were  going  on  nearly  all  the  time 
within  the  pale  of  the  Roman  Church. ^^)  It  does  not  appear 
that  these  proceedings  caused  excitement  among  the  populace 
of  Spain,  Italy,  or  France.  They  were  commonly  regarded 
as  the  legitimate  business  of  the  Church,  and  the  authority 
that  supported  them  was  unquestioned.  Nor  had  Germany 
formed  an  exception  to  the  rule  until  lately.  The  extortionate 
practises  of  the  Roman  clergy  probably  were  not  greater 
in  Germany  than  elsewhere,  but  they  were  more  keenly  felt 
by  the  Germans  than  by  others,  because,  as  a  rule,  the  Ger- 
mans of  those  days  still  took  their  religious  duties  seriously. 
That  was  the  reason,  too,  why  the  habitual  levity  of  leading 
Italian  churchmen  shocked  the  unsophisticated  mind  of  Ger- 
mans more  than  that  of  others,  in  whom  the  spiritual  sense 
had  become  deadened  through  the  corrupting  influence  of  the 
Roman  clergy.  For  a  long  time  the  Germans,  both  men  of 
noble  rank  and  the  common  citizenry,  were  nursing  a  strong 
resentment  against  their  Italian  oppressors  and  despoilers. 
Luther's  trial  and  condemnation  by  the  Curia  furnished  them 
the  opportunity  for  venting  their  pent-up  indignation.  In 
rallying  around  this  monk,  they  sought  to  redress  their  own 
grievance.    Luther  had  gained  many  friends  by  his  exposition 


81)  P.AL,  pp.  17-20;   KDA,  pp.  10-16;   SC,  1,   416  ff. 

82)  Eph.  6,  17. 

83)  Not   defined    in    the   latest   edition    of   the   Standard  D    tionary,    al- 
though "caesaropapism"  is. 

84)  See  H.  C.  Lea,  Hist,  of  the  Inquis.  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  article 
on  '"Inquisition"  by   Dr.   Elphege  Vacandard  in   ERE,  7,   330  flF. 


LAW   VERSUS   JUSTICE.  27 

of  positive  Christian  truth,  but  Rome  had  unwittingly  made 
more  friends  for  Luther  by  its  reckless  policy  of  repression. 
Thus  Luther's  trial  became  a  state  affair  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  of  the  German  Nation.  For  the  first  time  in  hun- 
dreds of  years  the  secular  power  refused  to  function  at  the 
behest  of  the  spiritual.  Try  as  he  would,  the  papal  nuncio 
at  Worms  could  not  keep  the  affair  of  Luther  out  of  the  Diet. 

Vedder  has  correctly  sketched  the  situation:  "The  law," 
he  says,  "or  at  least  custom,  required  the  execution  of  the 
bull,  and  was  against  granting  to  a  condemned  heretic  a  new 
hearing  before  a  secular  ti-ibunal.  It  was  one  of  those  often 
occurring  cases  in  which  law  demands  one  thing  and  ex- 
pediency or  justice  another.  In  such  cases  men  usually  resort 
to  compromise ;  as  nearly  as  possible  they  neither  keep  nor 
violate  the  law;  and  this  the  Diet  did."*^)  Grisar  does  not 
elucidate  this  point,  but  speaks  of  Luther's  appearance  be- 
fore the  representatives  of  the  highest  spiritual  an3  secular 
authority  as  a  mere  incident  in  the  trial  of  Luther.  The 
truth  is,  Rome  had  actually  lost  its  case  when  it  had  to 
permit  the  summons  of  Luther.  That  action  broke  the  back- 
bone of  its  age-long  principle.  • 

Luther's  summons  to  appear  before  the  Diet  is  inexpli- 
cable without  a  study  of  the  political  conditions  confronting 
Emperor  Charles  V.  Luther  had  not  appealed  his  case  to 
the  Diet,  and  he  was  probably  the  last  man  to  think  of  such 
a  termination  of  his  controversy  with  the  Pope.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  do  justice  to  the  subject  of  this  review,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  take  the  reader  to  the  back-room  of  the 
stage  at  Worms,  and  make  him  observe  the  strange  play  of 
conflicting  interests  which  brought  on  the  rcligio-political 
drama  at  the  sessions  of  the  Diet  on  April  17  and  18. 


85)   VRG,  p.   145. 


28  POLITICS   AND   POLITICIANS. 

4.  Politics  and  Politicians. 

In  order  not  to  break  up  the  narrative  that  forms  the  back- 
bone of  this  review  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary,  the  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  German  Diet  and  its  character  in  Luther's 
time,  also  an  account  of  the  city  of  Worms,  have  been  moved 
to  the  Appendix.  The  reader  v^ho  desires  to  understand  fully 
the  historical  background  of  the  story  will  find  the  perusal  of 
chapters  1  and  II  of  the  Appendix  opportune  at  this  point. 

The  political  interests  of  Charles  V  were  paramount  dur- 
ing the  entire  Diet  of  Worms.  He  had  to  settle,  first,  upon  a 
suitable  policy  for  his  administration  of  the  German  Empire. 
His  reign  began  with  a  constitutional  struggle.  Charles 
represented  the  principle  of  centralization  of  power.  He 
was  opposed  by  a  strong  party  of  German  nobles,  who  stood 
for  decentralization. 

At  W^orms,  Charles  represented  the  cause  of  national  union, 
the  constitutional  monarchy ;  the  princes  stood  for  the  existing 
oligarchy;  each  was  contending  for  the  mastery,  or  at  least  for  a 
definite  advantage.  .  .  .  Before  the  question  of  Luther  came 
before  the  Diet,  weeks  had  been  spent  in  wrangling  about  the 
constitutional  question,  and  it  was  still  dragging  along  when  he 
reached  Worms.  The  princes  proposed  a  permanent  imperial 
Council  (Reichsregiment) ,  which  should  exercise  the  chief  func- 
tions of  rule,  whether  the  Emperor  were  present  or  absent, 
and  should  therefore  decide  all  imperial  questions,  domestic  as 
well  as  foreign.  The  Emperor  should  not  even  be  represented 
in  this  Council,  save  as  his  hereditary  domains  should  elect 
members ;  but  the  Estates  of  the  empire,  and  even  the  towns, 
should  elect  representatives.  Under  such  a  constitution  the 
imperial  power  would  have  been  absolutely  extinguished,  and 
Germany  would  have  become  a  federated  oligarchy.  Charles, 
on  his  part,  proposed  that  there  should  be  a  representative  Coun- 
cil, indeed,  but  that  it  should  sit  only  during  his  absence  from 
Germany,  and  then  under  a  regent  appointed  by  himself.  Of 
twenty  members  he  should  have  power  to  appoint  six,  and  while 
the  members  representing  the  Estates  should  be  changed  quar- 
terly, his  nominees  should  be  permanent.  Direction  of  foreign 
affairs  was  to  be  reserved  to  the  Emperor  himself,  and  his 
assent  should  be  required  for  all  domestic  measures  of  im- 
portance. This  would  have  made  the  imperial  power  a  reality, 
such  as  no  Emperor  of  recent  times  certainly  had  possessed. 

As  usual,  a  compromise  was  the  result  of  these  conflicting 
claims.  The  Emperor  was  permitted  to  nominate  the  president 
of    the   Council   and    four   members    out   of    twenty-two.     The 


POLITICS   AND   POLITICIANS.  29 

Council  was  to  sit  only  in  the  Emperor's  absence,  but  on  his 
return  should  be  an  advisory  body  until  a  Diet  was  convoked. 
The  power  to  transact  ordinary  business  was  conceded  to  the 
Diet  in  the  Emperor's  absence,  but  the  decision  of  important 
matters  was  reserved  to  him ;  while  as  to  foreign  policy  a  check 
was  placed  on  the  imperial  authority  by  the  promise  of  Charles 
to  form  no  alliances  affecting  the  empire  without  its  consent. 
On  the  whole,  Charles  was  considerably  the  gainer  by  tliese 
prolonged  debates.  Much  was  done  to  strengthen  the  imperial 
Council,  which  during  the  subsequent  years  of  the  Reformation 
had  so  prominent  a  part  in  affairs.  An  attempt  was  made  also 
to  strengthen  the  imperial  finance,  for  just  at  this  juncture  the 
imperial  treasury  was  at  a  very  low  ebb,  and  the  other  re- 
sources of  Charles  were  not  immediately  available  in  proportion 
to  his  wants.  It  has  been  well  for  us  to  pause  for  the  considera- 
tion of  these  matters ;  for  they  not  only  are  indispensable  for 
an  understanding  of  subsequent  events,  but  have  an  important 
bearing  on  the  matter  in  hand — they  help  to  explain  the  com- 
parative mildness  with  which  Luther  was  treated.  A  strong 
party  in  the  Diet,  possibly  a  majority,  was  sufficiently  in  his 
favor  to  make  it  inexpedient  for  the  Emperor  to  do  anything  to 
antagonize  them,  while  his  personal  affairs  and  his  dynastic 
position  was  so  delicately  poised.^^*^ 

Still  greater  problems  confronted  Charles  in  his  external 
policy.  His  election  had  seriously  disturbed  the  balance  of 
power  among  the  European  nations. 

In  the  person  of  Charles  V  the  Emperor  once  more  began 
to  seem  a  great  figure,  but  this  was  because  of  his  immense 
hereditary  possessions,  greater  than  had  ever  before  been  united 
under  a  single  European  ruler  since  Charlemagne.  From  Spain 
he  could  draw  soldiers  whose  numbers  were  limited  only  by  liis 
ability  to  pay  them,  and  whose  fighting  qualities  were  unsurpassed 
in  Europe;  while  from  the  rich  Netherlands  and  from  the  mines 
of  his  colonies  in  the  New  World  he  could  draw  the  money  to 
equip  them  and  keep  them  in  the  field.  This  was  what  made 
Charles  a  great  prince:  the  Empire  was  his  weakness,  not  his 
strength  ;  it  increased  his  obligations,  not  his  resources-^*^) 

Rome  had  been  the  first  to  scent  the  danger  of  an  all- 
powerful  emperor  in  the  person  of  Charles.  Its  legates  harl 
•strenuously  worked  to  defeat  his  election,  and  throw  it  to 
Francis  I  of  France.     This  monarch  had  spent  huge  sums 


S6)    VRC,   pp.   151,   152   f. 
87)    VRG,  p.  151. 


30  POLITICS   AND   POLITICIANS. 

of  money  in  his  campaign  for  the  German  crown.  After  his 
defeat. he  nursed  a  bitter  resentment,  which  became  directed 
against  his  successful  rival.  The  Pope  and  the  French  mon- 
arch became  logical  allies  for  curbing  the  power  of  Charles. 
Leo  X  had  indeed  congratulated  Charles  upon  his  election, 
but  after  bestowing  the  papal  blessing  on  his  reign,  the  Pope 
set  to  work  immediately  to  stir  up  riots  and  seditious  move- 
ments for  Charles  in  Spain.  He  took  away  from  Charles  a 
valuable  prerogative  of  the  Spanish  crown,  and  sustained  a 
prominent  disloyal  prelate  against  the  Spanish  monarch. 

The  Emperor  needed  the  good  will  of  the  Pope  for  main- 
taining his  authority  over  his  Spanish  subjects,  who  were 
all  Catholics,  and  for  his  coronation  at  Rome,  which  he  hoped 
to  obtain  after  the  Diet.  At  the  same  time,  he  had  to  keep 
the  good  will  of  his  German  subjects,  who  had  become  seri- 
ously divided  on  questions  of  religion.  If  he  favored  the 
Pope,  the  Germans  sulked  and  became  irresponsive  to  meas- 
ures for  which  he  had  to  enlist  their  military  and  financial 
resources.  If  he  yielded  to  the  German  reform  party,  he 
was  decried  in  Catholic  countries  as  a  secret  partisan  of 
Luther  and  an  enemy  of  the  Church.  This  German  reform 
party  was  a  formidable  element  at  the  Diet,  even  if  it  was 
still  in  the  minority.  It  represented,  on  the  one  hand,  a  Los 
von  Rom  movement  in  matters  of  religion,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  a  Los  von  Welschland  movement,  as  regards  affairs 
of  state.  The  point  of  both  movements  was  directed  against 
the  Curia,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  these  Germans,  was  the 
mother  of  all  ecclesiastical  and  political  ills  of  Germany.  The 
rising  German  national  spirit  was  strong  in  this  party.  Per- 
sonally the  Emperor  was  a  sound  Catholic,  and  such  were 
his  immediate  advisers.  Whenever  they  seemed  less  ardent 
in  their  devotion  to  Catholicism,  they  were  dissembling  for 
some  political  end. 

Among  the  German  princes  there  existed  dynastic  trou- 
bles, as  between  the  Saxon  House  of  Wettin  and  the  Bran- 
denburg House  of  Hohenzollern.  Religious  differences  di- 
vided the  Elector  Frederick  and  Duke  George  of  Saxony, 
although  both  were  members  of  the  Roman  Church.     The 


POLITICS   AND   POLITICIANS.  31 

Bavarian  Dukes  were  staunch  Catholics,  while  the  Prince 
Palatine  was  friendly  to  the  Lutherans.  These  differences 
among  the  secular  rulers  had  their  influence  on  the  church 
dignitaries  in  the  various  countries  and  produced  various 
degrees  of  loyalty  to  Rome.  To  Elector  Frederick,  who  had 
declined  the  German  crown  in  1519,  and  had  thrown  his 
great  influence  toward  Charles,  the  latter  felt  himself  under 
peculiar  obligations. 

The  Lutheran  movement,  at  the  time  of  the  Diet  of 
Worms,  had  not  yet  crystalized  into  a  party.  It  was  strongest 
among  the  common  people.  Its  adherents  among  the  office- 
holding  class  of  Germans  were  numerous,  but  many  of  these 
were  dependent  upon  Catholic  superiors,  and  this  circum- 
stance not  infrequently  influenced  their  action  against  their 
better  knowledge  and  sentiment,  as  was  seen  in  the  case  of 
Peutinger  and  Adelmann  of  Augsburg,  Scheurl  and  Spengler 
of  Nuremberg,  Capito  of  Mayence,  and  others.  The  religious 
views  of  many  who  openly  favored  Luther  and  could  afford 
to  do  so,  were  not  clarified.  To  the  Humanists,  Luther  was 
an  intellectual  liberator ;  the  impoverished  knights  and  lower 
gentry  looked  to  him  for  restoration  of  their  former  wealth. 
Praises  of  Luther  from  these  quarters  must  be  taken  at  a 
discount.  Then  there  were,  among  those  whom  Luther's 
religious  views  had  attracted,  dangerous  elements,  who  were 
ready  to  inject  a  fanatical  element  into  the  reform  move- 
ment. These  not  infrequently  hampered  the  work  of  Luther, 
and  checked  the  counsels  of  his  wise  and  enlightened  friends. 

Hundreds  of  interests  were  thus  crossing  each  other  in 
the  councils  of  the  German  national  assembly,  and  these 
were  further  augmented  by  the  ordinary  strivings  of  selfish- 
ness in  its  many  forms.  Struggles  for  personal  advantage, 
jealousies,  old  grudges,  special  ambitions,  occasionally  ar- 
rayed persons  who  were  working  in  a  common  cause  against 
one  another.  Among  the  Catholic  party,  whose  members 
were  apt  to  adopt  the  unscrupulous  methods  of  Italian  prel- 
ates, this  was  more  apparent  than  among  the  evangelical 
party.  Thus  Aleander  tries  to  discredit  Erasmus  at  Rome, 
and  Erasmus  circulates  damaging  reports  about  the  life  of 


32  POLITICS   AND   rOLITICIANS. 

the  papal  nuncio  at  Worms.  The  Vatican  must  send  a 
warning  note  to  Aleander,  by  all  means  not  to  quarrel  with 
Eck.  Caraccioli  at  times  fails  his  brother  nuncio  at  an  im- 
portant juncture.  Glapion,  the  Emperor's  confessor,  is  will- 
ing to  cooperate  with  Aleander  in  his  schemes,  if  the  latter 
will  help  him  to  secure  greater  recognition  at  Rome.  Persons 
seeking  some  preferment,  a  prebend,  a  better  income,  some- 
times a  mere  honorable  mention  in  a  letter  of  the  Pope, 
dicker  first  with  one  Romanist,  then  with  another,  and  betray 
the  confidences  of  the  one  to  the  other. 

Aleander,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  anti-Luther  propa- 
ganda at  Worms,  proceeded  on  the  assumption  that  every 
person  is  venal,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  find  out  the  exact 
price  at  which  he  will  become  serviceable.  Secretaries,  cham- 
berlains, janitors,  confessors,  are  tapped  by  him  for  any, 
even  the  most  trivial,  information  he  can  get  from  them. 
He  seeks  to  discover  in  what  direction  their  influence  tends, 
and  how  great  it  is.  He  is  a  thorough  "diplomat  of  the  back- 
stairs and  the  keyhole."  He  needs  great  sums  of  money 
for  paying  "gratificazioni"  for  all  sorts  of  service  of  a  shady 
nature  rendered  him.  His  employers  are  astonished  at  his 
expense  accounts.  Their  troubles  in  Germany  had  been 
started  by  an  agent  who  had  traveled  through  Germany 
with  a  money-chest,  bearing  the  inscription : — 

As  soon  as  the  money  rings  in  my  chest, 

From  purgatory  the  soul  finds  rest ! 

The  traffic  had  yielded  a  meager  return,  and  now  Rome  had 
to  expend  vast  sumsi  to  overcome  the  evil  effects  of  the 
traffic,  which  thus  proved  a  doubly  losing  venture. 

Cash  money  was  Aleander's  master-key  for  his  diplomatic 
burglaries.  Even  his  tips  to  lackeys  are  diplomatic  invest- 
ments. He  discovers  that  a  person  is  in  financial  straits, 
and  exchanges  a  few  gulden  for  valuable  knowledge  which 
the  person  possesses.  At  times,  however,  it  is  necessary  to 
expend  hundreds  of  ducats  and  thousands  of  gulden.  A  less 
expensive  medium  of  exchange  that  Aleander  employs  are 
"prospects."  The  Bishop  of  Liege  would  very  much  like  a 
cardinal's  hat;  Alearrder  promises  to  get  it  for  him  in  consid- 


POLITTCS    AND    POLTTTCTANS.  33 

eration  of  news  items  from  the  imperial  Privy  Council,  or 
of  a  letter  that  the  Kmperor  has  received  from  Ilutten.  The 
imperial  chamberlain  Armstorf,  who  sleeps  near  Charles, 
has  a  brother  who  has  made  application  at  Rome  for  a  rich 
prebend,  but  has  been  refused  because  the  particular  prebend 
has  already  been  given  to  another.  Armstorf  at  once  be- 
comes frigid  to  Aleander,  who  soon  discovers  the  reason, 
and  informs  his  home  office  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
do  business  at  Worms  if  gentlemen  who  sleep  in  the  Em- 
peror's antechamber  have  their  requests  turned  down  by  the 
Curia.  Result :  the  prebend  is  given  to  Armstorf 's  brother, 
and  the  loser  receives  an  indemnity  of  hundred  ducats. 
Aleander's  cheapest  commodities  are  papal  breves,  that  is, 
letters  of  commendation  for  distinguished  service.  Courtiers 
and  clergymen,  merchatits  and  professors,  are  dying  to  see 
themselves  mentioned  in  laudatory  terms  in  a  letter  of  the 
Pope.  Aleander  has  the  Roman  chancellery  furnish  him  a 
stack  of  such  letters  with  blank  space  for  tlic  insertion  of  a 
name,  and  delights  his  victims  with  them. 

As  he  does,  so  he  expects  everybody  else  to  do.  He  care- 
fully watches  the  bribe-giving  and  -taking  that  is  going  on  at 
Worms,  and  always  figures  with  the  possibility  that  some 
one  may  outbid  him.  When  any  of  his  tools  fail  him,  or  he 
finds  his  detective's  operations  balked,  his  first  thought  is 
that  somebody  has  bribed  his  own  agents,  or  has  been  able 
to  employ  better  secret  service  men.  He  suspects  chiefly 
the  Elector  of  Saxony  as  an  expert  in  this  art.^^^ 

Amid  this  maze  of  intrigues,  perfidies,  corruptions, 
Luther's  privilege  of  being  heard  by  the  Diet  had  to  be 
forced  from  an  opposition  that  held  every  post  of  prominence 
in  the  assembly,  commanded  vast  resources,  and  was  super- 
latively crafty. 


88)    IIAI.,   pp.    7-1?.;   ir,9-175. 


DAf,    TRIBTJNAI.    O^    CAF.SAR. 


34  THE   EMPEROR   IN    AN    UNGUARDED    MOMENT. 

5.  The  Emperor  in  an  Unguarded  Moment. 

From  the  day  that  he  had  presented  his  credentials  to  the 
Emperor  at  Antwerp,  Aleander  had  kept  in  closest  touch 
with  the  young  monarch,  incessantly  urging  the  immediate 
execution  of  the  bull  of  excommunication  against  Luther. 
He  had  traveled  with  the  imperial  court  as  far  as  Mayence, 
and  when  the  court,  on  November  28,  proceeded  to  Oppen- 
heim,  Aleander  had  remiained  at  Mayence  to  superintend 
the  burning  of  Luther's  books.  He  left  Mayence  November 
30,  and  proceeded  directly  to  Worms. 

The  imperial  court,  however,  made  a  detour  from  Oppen- 
heim  to  Heidelberg  to  pay  the  Elector  Palatine,  Louis  V,  a 
visit.  Grand  festivities  were  arranged  at  the  castle  of  the 
Prince  Palatine  in  honor  of  "His  Spanish  Majesty."  Charles 
V  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  chivalrous  sports  of  those 
days,  when  knights  met  in  tournaments  to  exhibit  their 
prowess  and  skill  in  arms  and  in  horsemanship.  At  the 
coronation  festivities  in  Aix,  Louis  V  had  created  a  sensa- 
tion by  bringing  with  him  seven  hundred  mailed  horsemen. 
At  the  Emperor's  visit  to  his  capital  he  again  displayed  the 
resources  and  splendors  of  his  rich  Palatinate.  Magnificent 
tournaments,  at  which  many  a  lance  was  shattered  by  famous 
knights,  took  place  on  the  sands  along  the  Rhine.  The  hunt- 
er's horn  and  the  baying  of  the  dogs  resounded  through  the 
wintry  forests  of  the  Odcnzvald.  At  night  the  new  palace 
of  Louis  V  was  resplendent  with  thousands  of  candles;  merry 
dancers  were  whirling  in  its  great  hall.  Fifty  wagonloads  of 
wine  from  the  Palatine  cellars  helped  to  keep  the  grand  com- 
pany in  good  spirits. 

Meanwhile  Aleander  had  reached  Worms.  In  a  letter  of 
al)out  the  middle  of  December  he  reports  his  first  experiences 
in  this  city  to  Cardinal  Medici  at  Rome: — 

They  refuse  to  let  me  have  the  lodgings  engaged  for  me, 
although  I  pay  more  than  any  one.  They  strike  my  name  off  the 
door,  and  play  me  a  hundred  other  rude,  bold  tricks,  which  are 
very  extraordinary  and  would  hardly  be  credible,  although  I 
write  of  them  in  order  to  inform  your  Lordship  fully.  More 
anxiety   has   been    caused    me    by   the    wide-spread    rumor    that 


THE    EArPEROR    IN    AN    UNGUARDED    MOMENT.  35 

Hutten  and  his  friends  have  sworn  to  murder  me.  Not  only  do 
my  friends  advise  me  of  this,  hut  certain  imperial  secretaries 
warned  me  through  the  Bishop  of  Liege  that  I  had  hetter  he  on 
my  guard,  or  I  would  hardly  escape  from  Germany.  I  feel  less 
safe  in  this  city  than  in  the  Campagna ;  wherefore  with  much 
trouble  and  expense  I  hired  myself  a  little  chamber  near  the 
court  in  the  house  of  a  poor  man.  I  sufifer  unaccustomed  hard- 
ship. On  the  icy  bank  of  the  Rhine,  I,  who  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  a  comfortably  heated  room  from  September  to  May, 
lack  a  fire.  I  can  hardly  keep  well.  There  is  indeed  one  room 
in  this  house  that  can  be  heated,  bi;t  it  is  so  low  that  the  landlord 
can  hardly  stand  upright  in  it;  moreover,  it  is  so  filthy  and 
infested  that  I  prefer  to  perish  from  cold  rather  than  from 
stench  and  filth.  True,  there  are  few  in  this  city  who  have 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  their  lodging,  but  I  least  of  all.  I 
have  been  forced  into  this  condition  because  it  was  represented 
to  me  from  all  sides  that  I  must  have  my  lodging  in  the  closest 
proximity  possible  to  the  court,  and  no  better  dwelling  was  to 
be  had  in  this  neighborhood.  I  would  not  know  how  to  come 
safely  through  a  sickness  in  this  place.  Contrary  to  my  own 
and  everybody's  expectation,  I  have  so  far  enjoyed  good  health, 
God  be  praised!  .  .  .  However,  I  pray  your  Magnificence 
not  to  suspect  me  of  exaggerating;  for  I  simply  report  facts.  If 
anything  should  happen  to  me,  I  wish  to  have  my  soul  com- 
mended to  the  Holy  Father,  and  my  brethren  to  your  Magnifi- 
cence, likewise  the  servants  who  are  here,  sharing  good  and  ill 
with  me.8^) 

However,  the  physical  discomforts  and  mental  unrest  of 
which  Aleander  complained  were  the  least  of  his  troubles. 
In  a  letter  of  December  14  he  states  that  a  report  has  reached 
him  that  Luther  is  to  be  brought  to  Worms.^'*)  Durinj:^  the 
few  days  which  Aleander  had  been  absent  from  the  imperial 
court  a  correspondence  had  taken  place  that  threatened  to 
upset  all  of  his  plans.     William  dc  Croy^'^   and  Henry  of 


89)  KD.\,   p.   .37  f.;   ITAL,  p.   7  f. ;  cf.   SC,  1,  442  f. 

90)  BAL,  p.  19  f.;   KDA,  p.  .37  f . ;   IIAL,  p.  8.0  f.;   SC,   1,  417   f. 

91)  Croy  (14S5-May  27,  1.021)  was  m.-idc  stadtliolder  of  the  Nether- 
lands in  1506;  in  1509  he  took  charge  of  the  education  of  Charles  V,  to 
whom  he  became  chief  adviser  after  1516.  He  died  at  Worms.  SC,  1, 
397  f. 


36  THE   EMPEROR    IN    AN    UNGUARDED    MOMENT. 

Nassau,^-^  two  of  the  most  trusted  ministers  of  Charles  V, 
addressed  a  joint  letter  to  the  Elector  from  Oppenheim.  The 
letter,  dated  November  27,  states  that  the  writers  have  re- 
ceived the  Elector's  letter  written  in  behalf  of  Luther,  and 
have,  in  accordance  with  the  Elector's  request,  communi- 
cated with  the  Emperor,  who  has  decided  to  ask  the  Elector 
to  bring  Luther  with  him  to  the  Diet,  and  will  write  the 
Elector  to  that  effect.^^)  The  Elector's  letter  mentioned  in 
this  correspondence  is  lost,  but  we  may  infer  from  the  joint 
letter  of  Charles'  ministers  that  the  Elector  had  not  sug- 
gested a  hearing  of  Luther  at  the  Diet ;  for  the  ministers 
deem  it  necessary  to  urge  the  Elector  by  all  means  to  enter 
upon  this  plan  "from  his  habitual  kindness  and  because  of 
his  Christian  devotion  to  our  holy  faith."  They  state  that 
the  Emperor  had  formed  his  decision  after  their  conference 
with  him,  but  do  not  say  that  they  had  suggested  such  a  plan 
to  him.  This  letter  reached  the  Elector  at  Eylenburg  De- 
cember 7. 

Replying  to  this  letter  December  14  from  Allstedt,  the 
Elector  says  that  he  has  received  no  letter  from  the  Emperor, 
and  hence  cannot  express  any  opinion  on  the  plan  of  bringing 
Luther  to  Worms. 

I  only  pray  that  you  continue  to  have  Dr.  Martin's  cause  at 
heart,  so  that  no  violence  is  used  against  him,  regardless  of  his 
frequent  protestation  and  offer  [to  compromise  his  differences 
with  his  adversaries].  For  it  is  reported  that  after  my  depar- 
ture from  Cologne  his  books  were  burned  in  that  city,  at 
Mayence,  and  in  other  places.  This  is  the  last  thing  that  I  would 
have  expected,  partly,  because  Doctor  Martin  has  so  often  de- 
clared, and  still  declares  himself  ready  to  do  all  that  he  can 
and  ought  to  do  for  God's  sake  and  without  injury  to  his 
Christian    name;    partly,    because    I   have    myself   requested    that 


92)  Henry  of  Nassau  (1483-Septcmber  14,  1538),  an  officer  of  Maxi- 
milian. In  1516-17  he  was  in  command  at  tlie  siege  of  Arnheim;  in  1521 
he  fought  against  France.  He  was  then  made  governor  of  the  Netlicrlands. 
He  visited  Spain  in  1522  and  1534.  He  was  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in 
1530.  The  following  anecdote  of  him  is  found  in  a  contemporary  publica- 
tion, reprinted  by  P.  Fredericq.  Corpus  iiiquisitioitis  Neeiiaudicae,  TV,  No. 
37:  "The  Count  of  Nassau  said  to  the  preachers  at  The  Hague,  'Co  and 
I)reach  the  Ciospel  simi)ly  like  T.uther,  offending  no  one.'  .  .  .  Then  the 
professors  of  I.ouvain  complained  to  Margaret,  sister  of  Charles  V.  who 
said,  'Who  is  Luther ?'  'An  unlearned  monk,'  they  said.  'Then,'  said  she, 
'all  you  learned  men  write  against  one  unlearned,  and  the  world  will  rather 
believe  many  learned  than  one  unlearned.'  "     SC,  1,  398. 

93)  XV,  1696  f.;  SC,  1,  398. 


THE    EMPEROR    IN    AN.  UNGUARDED    MOMENT.  2>7 

Doctor  Martin  be  not  condemned  unheard,  nor  his  hooks  burned. 
Now,  if  Doctor  Martin,  prompted  by  such  wanton  acts  of  his 
adversaries,  has  rendered  them  like  for  like,^^)  1  trust  that 
His  Imperial  Majesty  will  graciously  overlook  it,  and  that  in 
your  conversation  with  His  Majesty  you  put  the  best  construc- 
tion on  it,  and  humbly  commend  the  man  and  his  cause  to  His 
Majesty  >"') 

It  is  possible  that  the  Elector,  as  some  think,  feij^^ncd  not 
to  have  received  the  Emperor's  letter,  in  order  to  gain  time; 
but  there  is  no  evidence  of  it.  The  Emperor's  letter  dated 
Oppenheim,  November  28,  reads  : — 

High-born,  dear  Uncle^*')  and  Elector:  To  guard  against 
further  damage,  we  have  been  urgently  requested  at  sundry 
times  by  the  nuncio  of  His  Papal  Holiness  to  order  the  burning 
of  Doctor  Martin  Luther's  books  here  and  at  other  places  in  our 
holy  Empire,  as  has  been  done  in  our  hereditary  possessions  in 
Lower  Burgundy.  Now  our  high-born,  dear  uncle^'*'\  William, 
Marquis  of  Arschott,  and  the  well-born,  our  dear  and  trusty 
Henry.  Count  of  Nassau,  our  viceroy  in  the  Netherlands,  have 
informed  us  that  you  desire  of  us  not  to  have  anything  done 
or  undertaken  against  the  said  Luther  unless  he  has  first  been 
heard.  Inasmuch  as  we  should  like,  indeed,  to  terminate  this 
affair,  from  which  much  disorder  and  error  might  arise,  we 
earnestly  request  that  you  bring  the  said  Luther  with  you  to 
the  next  Diet  at  Worms,  and  we  shall  there  have  him  examined 
by  learned  and  wise  persons,  and  shall  see  that  no.  wrong  nor 
anything  illegal  is  done  to  him.  However,  to  prevent  further 
trouble,  we  request  that  you  strictly  order  the  said  Luther  in  the 
mean  time  not  to  write  or  pul)lish  anything  against  His  Papal 
Holiness  or  the  See  of  Rome,  and  that  you  see  to  it  that  he  does 
not  do  so.  Thereby  you  will  do  us  special  pleasure,  which  we 
shall  graciously  acknowledge.^") 

What  had  prompted  ,this  decision  of  the  Emperor? 
Chiefly  the  political  considerations  which  were  indicated  in 
the  preceding  chapter:  a  due  regard  for  the  known  wishes 
of  a  powerful  German  magnate,  whose  support  the  Emperor 
needed,  and  to  whom  he  felt  himself  under  a  special  obliga- 


94)  By  Dec.  14  the  Elector  knew  that  Luther  had  burned  the  Popes 
bull. 

9.5)   XV%   1000  f.  ;   SC.   1,   410.  .  . 

90)  .\  term  of  condcscendinR  affection  employed  by  sovereigns  in 
their  intercourse  with  persons  of  equal  rank,  if  the  latter  are  older  than 
the  speaker;  otherwise  the  term  "cousin"  is  used.  No  kinship  is  implied  in 
either  case. 

97)   XV,  1697  f.;   SC,  1,  398. 


38  THE   EMPEROR    IN    AN    UNGUARDED    MOMENT. 

tion.  Moreover,  in  the  Emperor's  overture  to  the  Elector  we 
can  trace  the  influence  of  Erasmus.  While  the  imperial  com- 
pany had  tarried  at  Cologne,  the  Elector  had  asked  Erasmus 
for  his  opinion  of  Luther's  controversy,^^)  and  Erasmus 
had  advised  that  Luther  be  given  a  fair  trial  before  compe- 
tent judges.  In  an  extensive,  but  unsigned  memorandum  to 
the  Elector,  embodying  twenty-two  theses,  he  outlined  a 
plan  for  such  a  trial  to  be  conducted  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  the  Emperor,  the  king  of  England,  and  the  king  of 
Hungary,  by  judges  whom  these  monarchs  were  to  select.^^) 
This  opinion  of  the  scholar  the  Elector  had  communicated  to 
Aleander  as  his  own.^^^)     Erasmus  exerted  his  influence  in 


98)  DGR,  p.  276  f . ;  XV,  1716-21;  Erl.  Ed.  0pp.  v.  a.  5,  241  f.  With 
the  aid  of  Erasmus  the  Dominican  Prior  John  Faber  drew  up  a  similar 
plan,  XV,  1722  f.  Erasmus's  plan  was  published  during  the  Diet  and 
gave  Aleander  an  opportunity  to  vent  his  hatred  of  Erasmus.  Luther 
writes  to  Spalatin,  February  27:  "We  regret  no  less  than  you  that  Erasmus's 
Axioms  and  the  reply  of  our  Elector  have  been  published  at  Leipzig.  I 
know  not  where  they  got  them,  for  we  were  much  surprised  when  they 
appeared,  and  did  not  know  where  they  got  their  copies;  ours  are  still 
with  us.  So  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  accuse  us  in  this  matter, 
for  we  are  much  annoyed  by  their  being  published,  since  they  make  people 
suspect  us  of  being  both  afraid  and  boastful."  XXIa,  334  f . ;  EB,  3,  89  f.; 
SC,   1,  472  f. 

99)  XV,  1720. 

100)  On  November  6  the  Elector's  Counselors,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Trent,  replied  orally  at  the  monastery  of  the  Barefooted 
Monks  at  Cologne  to  the  papal  breve  which  Aleander  had  delivered  to  the 
Elector  on  All  Saints'  Day,  while  the  latter  was  worshiping  at  that  place. 98) 
They  told  Aleander  and  Caraccioli  that  the  Elector  repelled  the  insinua- 
tion that  by  shielding  Luther  against  the  Church  he  had  left  the  path  in 
which  his  pious  forefathers  had  walked,  and  that  the  Elector  was  indignant 
at  the  audacity  of  Eck,  who  was  executing  a  papal  bull  in  the  Elector's 
domains  by  circumventing  the  Elector's  sovereign  authority,  and  was  includ- 
ing in  that  bull  men  like  Carlstadt,  Feldkirchen,  and  others,  who  were  not 
named  at  all  in  the  bull.  Such  an  illicit  procedure,  they  said,  could  have 
no  other  effect  than  to  force  others  to  join  Luther  in  his  Appeal  and 
Protestation,  and  to  win  the  support  of  all  the  common  people  for  Luther. 
Reviewing  the  events  since  1517,  they  showed  that  the  Elector  had  never 
identified  himself  with  Luther's  controversy.  The  Elector,^  they  said,  would 
regret  if  Luther  should  have  written  anything  unbecoming;  however,  he 
was  convinced  that  Luther's  writings  did  not  deserve  to  be  burned.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  Elector  requested  that  the  measures  to  mete  out  quick  Italian 
justice  to  Luther  be  stopped,  and  arrangements  be  made  for  giving  Luther 
an  impartial  hearing  before  learned,  godly,  and  fair  judges,  at  a  convenient 
place  and  under  a  safe-conduct.  If  Luther  should  then  be  convicted  of 
error,  the  Elector,  as  an  obedient  son  of  the  holy  Christian  Church,  did  not 
purpose  to  shield  him.  Erl.  Ed.  0pp.  v.  a.  5,  244-7.  Aleander,  who  at  once 
sensed  the  influence  of  Erasmus  in  this  reply,  reported  the  interview  to 
the  Pope  on  November  6:  "I  know  that  Your  Holiness  is  very  anxious 
to  know  what  we  did  with  the  Elector  of  Saxony.  .  .  .  We  did  see  him  on 
November  4,  and  worked  on  him  so  that  he  seemed  to  be  persuaded  by  us 
and  said  that  he  had  never  spoken  twenty  words  with  Luther."  RA,  II, 
460;  SC,  1,  388  f.  The  claim  of  a  personal  meeting  with  the  Elector  in 
this  report  is  false. 


THE   EMPEROR   IN    AN    UNGUARDED    MOMENT.  39 

favor  of  his  plan  on  the  Emperor's  minister,  William  of 
Croix,  and  on  Glapion,  the  Emperor's  confessor.^'*^)  Through 
these  men  Erasmus's  idea  of  an  imperial  commission  to 
investigate  Luther's  case  reached  the  Emperor.  William  of 
Croix  was  by  disposition  inclined  to  moderation  and  peaceable 
measures  in  all  affairs  of  State  and  Church;  Glapion,  though 
he  allowed  no  one  to  see  through  his  plans,  was  never  blind 
to  his  own  interests;  his  intimate  relation  to  the  Emperor 
gave  him  an  immense  influence  on  the  Emperor's  decisions, 
and  this  influence  could  be  so  used  as  to  make  Glapion  a 
person  to  be  reckoned  with  by  the  Pope.  Reports  which 
reached  the  imperial  court  from  France  and  Spain  were  not 
reassuring.  Francis  I  was  plotting  against  the  Emperor, 
and  the  Pope  was  abetting  him.  In  Spain  the  inquisition 
had  been  removed  from  under  Charles's  jurisdiction  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  prelates.  Besides,  there 
was  rioting  in  certain  parts  of  Spain,  in  which  the  Bishop  of 
Zamora  was  involved.  Charles  asked  the  Pope  to  remove  the 
bishop  from  office,  but  the  Pope  failed  to  comply  with  the 
request.  At  this  time  a  letter  may  have  been  remembered 
that  had  been  written  by  John  Manuel,^^^)  the  Emperor's 
ambassador  at  Rome.  On  May  12,  1520,  the  ambassador  had 
sent  this  note  : — 

If  Your  Majesty  go  to  Germany,  you  ought  to  show  some 
favofif*-''')  to  a  certain  friar  who  calls  himself  Friar  Martin,  who 


101)  John  Glapion,  ])oin  in  the  province  of  Maine,  France,  became  a 
Franciscan  at  Bruges.  At  the  time  of  the  election  of  Charles  as  Emperor 
he  visited  that  monarch  in  Catalonia,  and  in  1519  or  ir)20  was  recommended 
to  the  position  of  confessor  to  His  Majesty  by  P.  dc  Croy,  Marquis  of 
Arscot.  Tie  was  then  made  Bishop  of  Toledo.  He  died  September  15  or  22, 
1522.      SC,   1,   420. 

102)  Manuel  was  a  Spanish  grandee  who  had  fallen  into  (lisfavor  and 
been  imprisoned  in  151.3  for  rendering  bad  services  to  Ferdinand.  Later 
he  became  imperial  ambassador  at  Rome,  an  office  which  he  held  from  1520 
to  152.3,  when,  apparently  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  Pope  .Adrian,  he 
was  removed.      SC,  1,   318. 

103)  Dr.  Smith  here  points  out  a  misstatement  in  Pastor's  History  of 
the  Popes.  \'I1I,  17  f. :  "Strange  to  say.  Dr.  Pastor  has  exactly  reversed 
the  meaning  of  this  dispatch,  interpreting  it,  'Your  .Majesty  ought  to  refrain 
from  showing  favor.'  A  more  literal  translation  of  the  Spanish,  kindly 
furnished  me  by  my  friend.  Prof.  S.  L.  dalpin,  of  Amherst  College,  is: 
'And  Your  Majesty  may  come  to  Germany,  at  which  they  will  again  be 
greatly  afraid,  and  a  little  favor  may  secretly  [be  done]  to  a  friar  who 
calls  himself  Friar  Martin.'  Both  the  language  and  the  contest  show  th.it 
Bergenroth's  translation"  (which  Smith  has  given!)  "is  correct."  SC, 
1,  318. 


40  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

is  staying  with  the  Elector  of  Saxony.  The  Pope  is  exceed- 
ingly afraid  of  him,  as  he  preaches  openly  against  the  authority 
of  Rome,  and  is  said  to  be  a  great  scholar.  I  think  he  would 
be  a  good  means  of  forcing  the  Pope  to  conclude  an  alliance.  I 
am,  however,  of  the  opinion  that  these  means  ought  to  be  em- 
ployed only  if  the  Pope  refuses  to  make  an  alliance,  or  if  he 
afterwards  breaks  it.^^^) 

The  combined  force  of  all  these  considerations  had 
prompted  the  correspondence  of  the  Emperor  and  his  coun- 
selors with  the  Elector,  as  well  as  the  direction  to  bring 
Luther  to  Worms.  Luther  was  being  used  by  these  diplomats 
to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Pope.  The  idea,  then,  of 
summoning  Luther  to  Worms  was  at  its  root  a  diplomatic 
move,  decided  upon  in  the  most  intimate  circles  of  the  politi- 
cal advisers  of  Charles  V.  P>ut  all  these  gentlemen  had 
miscalculated  the  power  and  cunning  of  Aleander. 


'     6.  Reversing  the  Imperial  Engine. 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  the  first  intimation  from 
Charles's  ministers  that  he  was  to  bring  Luther  to  Worms, 
the  Elector  had  ordered  Spalatin  to  ascertain  what  Luther 
thought  of  the  proposition.  Before  Spalatin's  inquiry 
reached  Luther,  the  Emperor's  letter  was  delivered  to  the 
Elector.  The  Elector  was  perplexed  by  the  Emperor's  order. 
Hitherto  he  had  studiously  maintained  an  attitude  of  benevo- 
lent neutrality  towards  Luther.  His  religious  views  were 
deeply  tinged  with  the  medieval  conceptions  of  holiness.  He 
worshiped  the  saints,  relied  on  their  intercession,  observed 
their  festivals,  and  collected  their  relics.  Aleander  could 
truthfully  report  that  the  Elector  was  of  good  disposition, 
very  pious,  and  a  regular  attendant  at  church. i^^)  Luther's 
edifying  tracts  appealed  to  him,  and  he  also  found  himself  in 
agreement  with  Luther  in  the  latter's  opposition  to  the  op- 
pression practised  on  the  Germans  by  Rome.    But  he  did  not 


104)  RA,  II,  461;  HAL,  p.  31. 

105)  In   the  letter  to  Leo  X   of  November  0. 


REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  41 

like  the  polemics  of  Luther,  and  "as  a  hi\ man  not  deeply 
versed  in  Scripture"  he  declined  to  take  Luther's  part  in 
discussions  of  questions  of  theology.  It  had  never  entered 
his  mind  to  bring  Luther  with  him  to  Worms;  his  plan  had 
been  that  Archbishop  Greiffenklau  of  Treves  should  arbi- 
trate Luther's  case,  and  then  the  controversy  was  to  be 
quietly  buried.  If  Luther  entered  Worms  in  the  Elector's 
company,  the  latter  felt  that  he  would  be  personally  drawn 
into  Luther's  controversy  and  cease  to  be  regarded  as  neu- 
tral. He  felt  that,  no  matter  whether  he  undertook  to 
protect  or  to  sacrifice  Luther  at  Worms,  he  would  arouse 
enmity  against  himself.  Moreover,  the  Emperor's  letter 
laid  the  injunction  upon  him  to  hold  himself  responsible  for 
Luther's  future  conduct.  Accordingly,  scenting  danger  in 
the  Emperor's  communication,  Frederick,  without  waiting 
for  Luther's  answer,  dispatched  the  following  answer  to  the 
Emperor,  December  20: — 

Most  gracious  Lord :  Your  Imperial  Majesty's  letter  from 
Oppenheim,  on  November  28,  has  been  received  by  me  here  at 
Allstcdt  with  becoming  reverence  and  devotion.  [The  Elector 
now  rehearses  the  contents  of  the  Emperor's  letter.]  In  reply 
I  humbly  submit  to  Your  Majesty  that  I  have  never  assumed, 
and  do  not  now  assume,  to  defend,  or  to  be  responsible  for.  Doc- 
tor Martin's  writing  or  preaching,  but  have  left  him  to  answer 
for  them  himself,  as  he  has  offered  to  do.  This  I  have  at  sundry 
times  written  and  communicated  to  His  Papal  Holiness  and  his 
ambassadors.  As  regards  my  asking  the  Marquis  and  Nassau 
humbly  to  request  Your  Majesty  not  -to  permit  anything  to  be 
done  or  undertaken  against  Luther,  except  he  l)e  first  Riven  a 
hearing,  this  I  did  in  order  that  the  truth  might  be  revealed, 
and  to  establish  whether  Luther  is  in  error  in  his  writings.  For 
the  said  Luther  has  always  offered,  on  sufficient  guarantee,  to 
come  forward  and  be  examined  by  fair,  honorable,  and  unsus- 
pected judges,  and  if  he  is  overcome  by  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
humbly  to  stand  corrected.  Thus  he  has  stated  at  length  in  his 
published  Protest  and  Offer.  That,  and  nothinij  else,  induced  me 
to  submit  my  petition  to  Your  Majesty  through  the  said  gentle- 
men. Accordingly,  I  had  hoped  that  the  matter  would  be  stayed 
and  allowed  to  rest  by  the  adversaries,  especially  since  the  am- 
bassador of  His  Holiness  .stated  to  me  amongst  other  things, 
that  he  would  propose  ways  and  means  in  this  affair  how  I  was 
to  act,  and  I  offered  to  act  as  he  would  propose.    However,  I  am 


42  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

informed  that  since  I  left  Your  Majesty,  the  books  of  Luther, 
although  he  had  not  been  heard  and  overcome  with  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, have  been  burned  at  Cologne,  Mayence,  and  elsewhere. 
This  I  had  not  expected,  but  had  rather  hoped  that,  even  though 
they  had  no  regard  for  Luther,  I  at  least  would  be  considered  in 
this  matter.  Now,  then,  since  this  has  happened  against  my 
humble  prayer  and  against  the  promise  of  the  papal  nuncio,  more- 
over, since  I  cannot  perceive  from  Your  Majesty's  letter  that 
this  burning  was  permitted  by  Your  Majesty,  and  since  Luther 
may  also  have  undertaken  to  do  something  in  return  before  Your 
Majesty's  letter  reached  me,  I  therefore  ask  Your  Majesty  to 
consider  graciously  that  it  imposes  a  hardship  on  me  to  bring 
Luther  with  me  to  the  Diet.  I  have,  accordingly,  been  compelled 
to  communicate  all  this  in  advance  to  Your  Majesty,  and  I  very 
humbly  beg  Your  Majesty  for  once  to  spare  me  this  hardship 
of  bringing  Luther  with  me  to  Worms,  and  not  to  take  it  ill  that, 
for  the  reasons  stated,  I  shall  fail  to  do  so.  For  otherwise  I  am 
quite  willing  humbly  to  obey  Your  Majesty's  wishes.  If,  in  con- 
sequence of  this,  it  should  be  reported  to  you  that  my  object 
in  this  matter  is  entirely  different  from  the  one  indicated  by 
me,  or  that  I  intend  to  act  in  opposition  to  our  holy  Christian 
faith,  I  humbly  beg  you  not  to  credit  such  report.  For,  God 
willing,  such  shall  never  be  my  purpose,  mind,  and  intention ;  on 
the  contrary,  I  trust  that  God  Almighty  will  grant  me  grace 
faithfully  to  advance,  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  whatever  may 
serve  to  strengthen  and  increase  our  Christian  faith. i^^) 

The  Elector  communicated  the  contents  of  this  letter 
on  the  same  day  to  Chievres  and  Nassau,  and  commended 
Luther's  cause  to  them  once  more.^^'^) 

In  the  mean  time  Luther  had  prepared  his  answer.  On 
December  21  he  wrote  to  Spalatin: — 

To-day  I  received  copies  of  your  letter  from  Allstedt,  i^^)  and 
from  Kindclbruccki^.^)  the  letter  in  which  you  ask  me  to  state 
what  I  would  do  if,  without  danger  to  the  Gospel  and  the  public 
welfare,  I  were  summoned  by  the  Emperor  Charles ;  for  you 
observe  that  the  enemies  are  setting  everything  in  motion  to 
hurry  up  this  business. 


106)  XV,  1698  ff.;  cf.   SC,  1,  420. 

107)  XV,  1700  flf. 

108)  Allstedt,  now  in  the  district  of  Saxony-Weimar,  at  that  time  in 
the  duchy  of  Mansfcld-Mittclort.  Spalatin  was  at  this  place  in  the  Elector's 
company,   December   16. 

109)  This  town  is  located  in  the  Prussian  district  of  Erfurt,  county  of 
Weissensee. 


REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  43 

As  for  mc,  if  I  am  summoned,  I  shall  do  everything  to  make 
my  going  there  possible;  and  if  I  cannot  come  in  good  health,  1 
shall  have  myself  carried  thither  sick.  For  no  one  has  a  right 
to  doubt  that  I  am  summoned  by  the  Lord  if  the  Emperor  sum- 
mons me.  Moreover,  if  they  carry  this  matter  through  with  vio- 
lence, as  is  likely, — for  they  are  not  having  me  called  to  be  in- 
structed by  me, — my  cause  must  be  committed  to  the  Lord.  For 
He  still  lives  and  reigns  who  saved  the  three  youtiis  in  the  fur- 
nace of  the  king  of  Babylon. i'")  If  lie  does  not  wish  to  save 
me,  my  head  is  a  paltry  matter  compared  with  Christ,  who  was 
slain  in  the  most  shameful  manner  to  the  scandal  of  all  and  the 
ruin  of  many.  For  here  nobody's  risk,  nobody's  safety  is  to  be 
taken  into  consideration ;  on  the  contrary,  our  only  concern 
must  be  that  we  do  not  abandon  the  Gospel  which  we  have  begun 
to  preach  to  the  mockery  of  the  wicked,  and  give  our  adversaries 
cause  for  boasting  that  we  dare  not  confess  what  we  have  taught, 
and  are  afraid  to  shed  our  blood  for  it.  May  Christ  the  Merciful 
prevent  such  cowardice  on  our  part  and  such  a  triumph  on  theirs ! 
Amen. 

Accordingly,  though  it  must  come  to  this  that  the  kings  of  the 
earth  and  the  princes  come  together  and  rage  with  the  Gentiles 
and  the  peoples  against  the  Lord  and  His  Anointed, m)  still  the 
Spirit  teaches  in  the  same  Psalm  that  those  shall  be  blessed  that 
put  their  trust  in  Him.^^)  And  not  only  this,  but  the  Lord 
Himself  will  laugh  at  them  and  hold  them  in  dcrision-ii-*^^  It 
surely  is  not  for  us  to  decide  whether  more  or  less  danger  will 
arise  for  the  Gospel  and  the  public  welfare  from  my  life  or  my 
death.  You  know  that  the  truth  of  God  is  a  rock  of  ofTenscii-*) 
set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel."-''*) 

However,  for  the  present  this  only  task  is  left  to  our  care 
to  pray  the  Lord  that  the  administration  of  Charles  may  not 
stain  its  first  acts  with  my  blood  or  anybody  else's,  in  order  to 
protect  wickedness.  I  should  prefer,  as  I  have  said  quite  oftrn. 
to  perish  only  at  the  hands  of  the  Romanists,  so  that  the  Emperor 
and  his  people  may  not  be  involved  in  my  cause.  You  know  what 
misery  pursued  the  Emperor  Sigismund  after  the  slaying  of  Hus; 
he  had  no  success  in  anything  thereafter ;  he  died  without  an  heir, 
and  afterwards  even  his  daughter's  son  Ladislaus  perished,  and 
his   name   was   wiped   out  in   one  generation;   his   wife   Barbara 


110)  Dan.  ."..  2.'?  ff. 

111)  Ps.  2,  2. 

112)  Ps.  2,  13. 
11.*?)  Ps.  2.  4. 

114)  Is.  8,  14. 

115)  Luke  2,  34. 


44  REVERSING  THE  IMPERIAL  ENGINE. 

became  a  scandal  among  queens.^i^)  and  I  think  you  know  of 
other  misfortunes  that  befell  him.  Yet,  if  it  must  come  to  this 
that  I,  too,  must  be  delivered,  not  only  to  the  Papists,!!"^)  but 
also  to  the  Gentiles,  the  Lord's  will  be  done.    Amen. 

There  you  have  my  plan  and  purpose.  You  may  expect  me 
to  do  anything  but  flee  and  recant.  Flee  I  shall  not,  much  less 
recant.  May  the  Lord  Jesus  strengthen  me  in  this !  For  I  could 
do  neither  without  jeopardizing  religion  and  the  salvation  of 
many.  I  am  returning  your  copies,  and  in  due  time  shall  send 
a  letter  to  the  Elector,  as  you  have  directed  me  to  do.  .  .  ,  Fare- 
well, and  be  strong  in  the  Lord.  Wittenberg,  on  the  Day  of 
St.  Thomas  the  Martyr  (which  many  believe  him  to  have 
been). 118) 

While  the  Elector  was  declining  the  task  which  the  Em- 
peror had  laid  on  him  and  Luther  was  preparing  for  his 
martyrdom,  a  letter  was  on  the  way  to  the  Elector.  It  was 
dated  December  17  and  came  again  from  His  Majesty,  who 
had  meanwhile  reached  Worms.  The  Emperor  had  under- 
gone a  change  of  mind.     He  writes : — 

Inasmuch  as  we  have  now  been  credibly  inforrhed  that  the 
said  Luther  has  come  under  the  extreme  ban  of  the  Pope,  and 
that  all  the  places  and  regions  into  which  he  comes  or  in  which 
he  abides  have  been  placed  under  the  papal  interdict,  and  that 
all  who  have  dealings  with  him  or  associate  with  him  also  come 
under  the  said  extreme  ban ;  therefore  we  have  fully  considered 
that,  if  the  said  Luther  should  come  hither  with  yon,  a  notable 
injury  might  arise  therefrom  to  the  Holy  Empire  and  its  Estates, 
which  would  be  placed  under  a  distinct  stigma  by  foreign  nations ; 
and  this,  as  you  will  readily  see,  ought  by  all  means  to  be  pre- 
vented.ii^)  In  view  of  this  we  desire  earnestly  that  you  will 
indicate  and  set  forth  to  the  said  Luther  the  following:  If  he 
now  and  before  starting  on  his  journey  recants  all  that  he  has 
written  against  His  Papal  Holiness  and  the  See  of  Rome,  also 


IIG)  Sigismund  left  only  one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  was  married  to 
Emperor  Albert  II.  Their  son,  Ladislaus  Posthumus,  became  king  of 
Hungary  and  Bohemia,  and  died  November  23,  1457,  without  issue.  The 
second  wife  of  Sigismund  was  Barbara,  Duchess  of  Cilly.  On  her  profligate 
life  see  Aschbach,  Kaiser  Sigismund,  IT,  397;   IV,  391. 

117)  Evidently  Luther  thought  that  the  idea  of  summoning  him  to 
Worms   had   originated   with,   or   was   fostered   by,   the   Papists. 

118)  XV,  1884  fif. ;  EB,  3,  23  ff. ;  SL,  p.  105.  While  Luther  wrote 
this  letter,  his  Assertio  and  Gritnd  und  Ursacli  were  coming  off  the  press, 
and  he  is  telling  Spalatin  that  he  is  forwarding  the  sheets  to  him  as  fast  as 
they  are   ready. 

119)  The  original  at  this  place  is  defective;  the  translation  offered  is 
according  to  the  text  as  reconstructed  by  Koestlin  and  Hoppe. 


REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  45 

against  the  decrees  of  councils,  and  is  willing;  to  siiljniii  to  tlic 
judgment  of  the  said  Papal  HoHness  and  of  the  See  of  Konie, 
you  may  bring  him  with  you ;  however,  do  not  bring  him  hither 
to  Worms,  but  leave  him  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  or  in  some 
other  place  thereabout,  where  he  is  to  await  further  instructions. 
But  if  he  declines  and  is  not  willing  to  do  this,  leave  him  at  home, 
until  we  have  orally  discussed  this  matter  with  you.'-"> 

The  Emperor's  scruples  are  plainly  inspired.  The  bull 
Exsurge  Domiuc  had  already  gone  into  effect  on  November 
27,,  the  day  before  he  made  his  first  proposition  to  the  Elec- 
tor. If  the  Emperor  was  not  aware  of  this,  his  confessor 
surely  was.  The  stigma  which  the  Emperor  fears  might  be 
fastened  on  him  in  foreign  countries  points  to  Spain,  where 
the  Emperor's  former  teacher,  Adrian,  was  voicing  his  con- 
tempt for  Luther's  theology,  and  would  certainly  include  the 
Emperor  in  his  contempt  if  the  latter  should  have  dealings 
with  an  excommunicated  heretic.  Thus  the  Emperor's  in- 
fluence in  his  home-land  might  be  still  more  undermined. 
Protests  had  also  arrived  from  the  kings  of  Portugal  and 
England,  who  deprecated  any  lenient  measures  in  dealing 
with  Luther.  But  the  principal  agent  in  bringing  about  this 
change  of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  Emperor  was  Aleander. 
When  the  imperial  party  entered  Worms,  he  began  at  once 
to  interview  Charles's  ministers,  and  learned  to  his  horror 
that  ''the  sky  which  has  hitherto  been  so  clear  seems  to  have 
become  overcast.''  We  have  seen  the  account  which,  on  De- 
cember 14,  he  gave  to  Medici  of  his  previous  successes  and 
the  sudden  check  he  had  received.  That  account  relates  to 
Aleander's  interview  with  the  Emperor's  ministers,  chiefly 
Chievres,  on  whom  all  arguments  of  Aleander  for  the  time 
being  were  lost.  The  statesman  evidently  enjoyed  the  i)light 
that  had  been  created  for  the  crafty  Italian  and  his  intriguing 
masters  at  Rome  by  the  Emperor's  letter  to  the  Elector. 
Rome  was  to  be  shown  that  perplexities  could  be  created  for 
the  Curia  also. 

It  now  became  necessary  for  Aleander  to  approach  the 
Emperor  directly,  in  order  to  break  down   the   influence  of 


1J>||)    X\'.    1702   f.;    SC.    1,    124    f. 


46  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

Charles's  ministers  over  their  sovereign.  The  Bishop  of 
Liege  became  Aleander's  friend  in  need  and  took  him  to  the 
Bischofshof,  the  episcopal  palace,  where  the  Emperor  was 
lodged.  The  monarch  veiled  himself  in  silence  as  Aleander 
was  introduced,  and  Chievres  had  to  carry  on  the  conversa- 
tion and  submit  once  more  to  Aleander's  pleading.  The 
nuncio  reports  these  proceedings  to  Cardinal  Medici,  De- 
cember 15 : — 

Yesterday  evening  at  eleven  o'clock  the  Bishop  of  Liege,  my 
old  patron,  took  me  to  the  Emperor.  On  this  occasion  I  had  a 
private  conference  with  Chievres,  who  heard  my  argument  on  the 
whole  business  with  great  attention  and  satisfaction,  and  there- 
upon assured  me  that  the  honor  of  the  Pope  and  of  the  Church 
would  be  consulted  at  every  turn,  and  that  the  Emperor  would 
act  as  a  truly  Christian  prince. 

The  gist  of  this  conference  Aleander  gives  in  a  letter  to 
Cardinal  Pucci  of  December  17 : — 

I  said  to  him  in  reply  that  we  by  no  means  needed  to  fear  a 
meeting  with  Martin  Luther,  as  though  we  knew  that  we  were 
wrong  and  he  was  right,  but  [the  reason  for  our  refusing  such 
a  meeting  was]  because  a  matter  that  had  already  been  decided  by 
the  decree  and  condemnation  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  is  the  only 
competent  judge,  ought  not  to  be  drawn  into  discussion  once 
more.  I  appealed  to  history,  which  teaches  that  alongside  of 
this  authority  appointed  for  the  whole  world  the  princes  and 
estates  of  the  Empire  would  assume  no  jurisdiction  in  such  a 
matter.  Finally,  as  I  stated  in  my  letter  from  Cologne,!-^) 
Luther,  in  the  Protest  which  he  has  issued  together  with  his 
demand  for  a  disputation,  wants  all  the  representatives  of  the 
Church,  all  theologians,  jurists,  canonists,  and  philosophers,  in 
short,  all  who  are  suspected  by  him,  that  is,  the  whole  learned 
world,  with  the  exception  of  certain  Germans,  debarred  from  act- 
ing as  judges.  It  seems  that  he  will  acknowledge  as  judges  only 
Hutten  and  his  miserable  crowd  of  German  Humanists.  I  added 
that  if  Luther  intended  to  recant,  or  they  [the  imperialists]  hoped 
to  induce  him  to  recant,  the  recantation  would  nevertheless  have 
to  take  place  in  the  form  prescribed  in  the  bull  before  he  would 
be  permitted  to  appear  before  the  Diet,  or  at  any  other  place 
where  he  might  desire  to  receive  the  forgiveness  of  the  Pope, 
and  to  be  readmitted  in  accordance  with  the  custom  in  such  cases, 
as  a  good  son  of  the   Church.     For  the  Holy  Father  does  not 


121)    See   note  100. 


REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  47 

desire  the  death  nor  the  blood  of  Luther,  but  the  salvation  of  his 
soul  and  the  welfare  of  the  Church. i--)  Chievres  replied  that 
the  summons  to  Luther  had  been  planned  only  in  the  certain  ex- 
pectation that  Luther  would  recant,  but  that  he  would  be  on  his 
guard  now  that  he  had  his  attention  drawn  by  my  talk  to  the 
scandal  which  would  necessarily  result  in  case  Luther  should 
refuse   to   recant. 

In  his  letter  to  Cardinal  Medici,  Aleander  stales  that  his 
conference  with  Chievres  in  the  Emperor's  lodp^ing  was  pri- 
vate, and  in  both  the  letters  from  wliicli  wc  ha\e  quoted  he 
asserts  that  Chievres  had  invited  him  to  attend  a  meeting 
of  the  German  State  Council  the  next  morning.  It  seems 
that  Chievres  was  weakening  and  counted  on  support  from 
members  of  the  Council.  Caracciolii23)  ^vas  indisposed  and 
could  not  attend  this  meeting  on  December  15,  at  which  the 
Cardinal  Bishop  of  Salzburgi^^)  presided,  assisted  by  the 
Bishop  of  Liege,i25)  as  a  prince  of  the  German  Empire,  and 


122)  Also  at  Cologne,  Aleander  had  assured  the  Elector  that  the  Pope 
had  no  intention  of  attaching  Lvithcr's  person  and  staining  his  hands  with 
Luther's  blood.  However,  this  was  a  prevarieation,  for  tlie  bull  of  ex- 
communication had  decreed  against  Luther  all  the  punishment  prescribed  by 
law,  and  had  expressly  condemned  Luther's  thesis,  that  the  burning  of 
heretics  is  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  What  Akandcr  stated 
on  these  two  occasions  was,  accordingly,  in  contradiction  to  the  official 
declarations  of  the  Curia,  and  the  Curia  could  decline  to  be  responsible 
for   the   private    statements   of  Aleander. 

123)  Marino  Caraccioli,  the  papal  prothonotary.  was  the  first  nuncio 
delegated  to  represent  the  Pope  at  the  Diet  of  Worms.  He  had  been 
entrusted  with  the  secular  interests  of  the  Curia,  and  AlcaufUr,  to  whom 
the  management  of  Luther's  affair  was  assigned,  had  been  instructed  to  do 
nothing  except  upon  previous  consultation  with  Caraccioli.  Every  student 
of  history  joins  Kalkoff  in  his  regret  that  the  dispatches  of  Caraccittli  have 
been  lost;  for  the  discussion  of  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  at  the  l^iit  was 
constantly  swayed  by  jiolitical  considerations.  —  Caraccioli,  a  native  of 
Naples,  had  studied  at  Milan,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Drikc  of 
Milan.  Durinj;  a  mission  for  his  sovereign  to  Rome  in  ir»l.")  lie  Iwnl  been 
given  the  office  of  prothonotary  by  Leo  X,  and  ai)pointed  iniiuio  at  the 
imperial  court  in  1.520.  At  a  later  time  Charles  V  attached  him  to  his 
court,  emj)loving  him  for  the  most  important  diplomatic  missions,  and 
obtained  for  him  the  cardinalatc  in  1.").3.^),  and  the  regency  of  Milan,  where 
Caraccioli   died,    l.j3S,   at   the   age   of  sixty-nine. 

124)  Matthew  Lang,  a  native  of  Augsburg,  had  been  one  of  the  i>riii- 
cipal  counselors  of  Emperor  Maximilian.  In  150.')  he  had  been  appointed 
Bishop  of  Gurk  and  in  1.51.5  Coadjutor  P.ishop  of  .Salzburg.  He  was  made 
a  cardinal  in  lal:;  and  an  .\rchbishop  in  If.li).  l'n<ler  Cliarbs  \'  he  was 
one  of  the  most  influential  representatives  of  the  Ha|)sbnrg  policies  of  the 
Emperor.      He  died  ir)4(). 

12"))  Eberhard  de  la  Marck.  Prince  P.ishop  of  Liege,  1.5nO-.38.  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  the  most  powerful  families  of  Euro|ie.  He  was  made  cardinal 
in  August,  1521.  Notwithstanding  Erasmus's  information,  he  always  appears 
to  have  been  hostile  to  the  new  government.  Luther  called  hmi,  in  1535, 
'"a  most  pestilent  organ   of  the  devil."     KB,   10,  203;   SC,   1,   193. 


48  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

the  Bishop  of  Trieste,i26)  ^s  imperial  counselor.  Many 
secular  princes  were  in  attendance.  Aleander  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  this  session  of  the  German  State  Council 
to  Cardinal  Medici : — 

As  I  had  long  ago  felt  it  to  be  my  disagreeable  duty  thor- 
oughly to  study  all  the  writings  of  the  basilisk  [Luther],  the  old 
ones  as  well  as  the  recent,^-^)  and  as  I  had  thus  acquired  the 
ability  to  cite  him  almost  verbatim  from  memory,  I  gave  them  a 
synopsis  of  the  strongest  errors  that  are  repugnant  to  the  Cath- 
olic creed  and,  as  I  could  foresee,  displeasing  to  my  hearers.  I 
appealed  primarily  to  the  testimony  of  the  New  Testament,  on 
which  Luther  claims  to  rely  chiefly,  and  also  to  many  declarations 
of  the  ancient  councils  and  church  fathers,  both  Greek  and 
Latin,  that  make  against  him.  For,  you  know,  the  dog  (cl  cane) 
won't  listen  at  all  to  the  works  of  modern  theologians  and  can- 
onists;  in  fact,  he  ridicules  and  rejects  them  all  as  suspected. 
When  I  had  thus  brought  the  princes  to  the  right  understanding 
and  had  won  their  favor,  I  demanded  the  publication  of  an  edict 
[against  Luther's  books]   and  other  suitable  measures. 

In  his  account  of  this  meeting  to  Pucci,  Aleander  is  more 
specific : — 

At  the  session  of  the  German  Council  of  State  I  gave  them 
in  a  speech  of  an  hour  and  a  half  a  synopsis  of  the  crassest 
errors  of  this  rascal,  taken  from  all  his  writings,  which,  in  spite 
of  their  very  considerable  volume,  I  have  studied  so  thoroughly 
that  they  are  always  present  to  my  mind,  and  I  can  at  any  time 
answer  questions  regarding  them.  First  I  touched  the  points 
which  would  be  offensive  to  the  married  doctors  in  the  Coun- 
cil.128)  By  way  of  refutation  I  also  adduced  against  him  many 
citations  from  the  decrees  of  the  ancient  councils,  and  from  the 
Greek  and  Latin  teachers  of  the  Church,  without  having  to  take 


126)  Pietro  Bonomo,  Bishop  of  Trieste,  1.502-40,  was,  like  his  hrotlier 
Francis,  a  person  of  liunianistic  culture  and  literary  propensities.  He  was 
a  meinher  of  tlie  Danuhian  Society,  Privy  Counselor  and  Chancellor  at  the 
Austrian   Court,  antl   sinct-  1523  administered   the   See  of  \'ienna. 

127)  At  Cologne,  Mayence,  and  Worms,  AK-ander  had  scoured  the 
bookshops  for  damaging  evidence  against  Luther  and  his  friends. 

128)  Aleander  refers  to  the  chapter  De  Matrimonio  in  Luther's  treatise 
on  the  Babylonian  Cattivitw  (XIX,  92-108;  Erl.  Ed.  Opp.  v.  a.  .5,  88, 
96-101.)  To  meet  the  tyranny  of  the  papal  laws  of  marriage,  Luther  in 
this  chapter  casts  about  for  means  of  redress.  In  the  confessional  Luther 
had  learned  of  the  distress  existing  among  his  married  parishioners,^  and 
symi)athizing  deeply  witli  them  had  given  advice  that  could  easily  be  inter- 
l)reted  as  a  defense  of  concubinage,  bigamy,  and  polygamv.  The  only 
legitimate  redress  for  the  existing  grievances,  divorce,  Luther  saw  barred 
by  the  canon  law  of  the  Church.  Tt  was  comparatively  easy  for  Aleander 
to  picture  Luther  to  the  Council  as  a  modern  Mahomet.  Cf.  DLER,  p. 
210-35. 


REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  49 

a  word  from  the  theologians  of  the  last  seven  hundred  years; 
for  to  these  Luther  will  not  listen.  So  the  time  which  used  to 
be  devoted  to  the  study  of  Peter  Lomljard  and  the  Tljomist  and 
Nominalist  speculations  I,  poor  man,  have  had  to  give  to  the 
examination  of  the  teachings  of  this  thief  (ladro),  and  to  my 
dismay  I  have  to  regard  the  time  thus  spent  as  good  as  lost. 
Thus  you  see  how  baneful  this  thug  (assasstito)  becomes  to  every 
one. 

Now,  as  the  Lutherans  in  their  theses  regarding  the  official 
authority  of  the  Pope,  purgatory,  and  the  intercession  of  the 
saints,  frequently  appeal  to  the  teaching  of  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church,  which  in  their  opinion  differs  from  the  Roman,  I  laid 
before  them,  l)esides  citations  from  the  Greek  fathers,  the  bull 
of  the  Florentine  Council  of  1439,  in  the  Latin  and  the  Greek 
version.  By  the  signature  of  John  Paleologus  this  bull  witnesses 
the  union  which  was  established  between  Occidental  and  Oriental 
Christianity.^--')  I  found  the  original  of  the  bull  in  the  archives 
of  the  church  at  Worms. 

At  first  the  German  Council  of  State  was  completely  non- 
plused, and  then  expressed  the  liveliest  satisfaction  at  my  con- 
futation of  the  rascal's  assertions.  Besides,  I  had  employed 
every  day  of  leisure  in  ransacking  the  old  libraries  of  the  Ger- 
man cities,  and  had  found  many  historical  works  from  the  time 
of  Charlemagne  and  the  Ottos,  in  which  the  title  Pat>a  Romanac 
ct  Universalis  Ecclcsiac  Pontifcx  [the  Pope  the  Pontiff  of  the 
Roman  and  Universal  Church]  occurs  again  and  again.  When 
I  placed  before  their  eyes  these  prints  wnth  letters  an  inch  long, 
just  as  I  had  found  them  in  their  lil^raries,  tlie  adversaries  were 
thrown  into  consternation  and  became  numb  with  fright,  while 
our  friends  were  satisfied  and  strengthened  in  their  position. 

As  the  whole  controversy  is  about  the  authority  of  the  Pope. 
I  made  thorough  studies  on  the  subject.  Why.  in  his  blasphemous 
treatise  on  the  "Babylonian  Captivity"  this  false  prophet  says  that 
there  are  no  distinctions  among  Christians,  and  that,  if  the  Pope 
can  grant  dispensations,  every  simple  layman  has  the  same  right, 
and  can  make  use  of  it  in  his  dealings  with  his   fellow-men  and 


130)  Aleandir's  arguiiKnt  was  a  dcccptinn  hrcausi'  it  npc-ral(<l  willi  ;i 
liistorical  fraud.  The  Council  of  Tlorence  had  lucn  ronvcncd  l)v  V*>jtr 
Eugene  I\'  as  an  opposition  council  to  that  of  Hasle.  Kinpiror  John  \  I. 
being  hard  pressed  by  the  Turks  and  about  to  lose  his  throne,  appealed  for 
aid  to  the  Council  of  Florence,  and  to  obtain  it  made  conc«  ssions  to  the 
doctrinal  system  of  tlie  Komnn  Church  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the 
Primacv  of  the  Pope,  etc.  The  Greek  Church  never  ratified  this  political 
bargaining,  and  the  union  between  the  two  churches  never  has  had  any 
existence  except  on  paper. 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    OF    CAESAR.  4 


50  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

for  himself ;   and  other  monstrosities  which  I  hardly  have  the 
courage  to  utter. 

At  the  conclusion  of  my  speech  the  members  of  the  Council 
had  been  completely  won  over  to  our  side. 

The  vivid  description  which  Aleander  gives  of  his  effort 
at  this  session  of  the  Council  of  State — the  Diet  was  not 
yet  opened — makes  us  see  the  conscienceless  and  adroit 
church  politician,  armed  with  every  trick  of  the  dialectician 
and  orator,  and  panoplied  in  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisee. 
There  was  no  match  for  this  consummate  theological  trick- 
ster in  that  meeting,  and  all  the  bigots  and  men  wath  vested 
rights  and  valuable  interests,  who  might  not  be  able  to  read, 
but  could  at  least  admire  letters  an  inch  long,  were  intensely 
pleased  with  their  champion.  Aleander  would  that  day  have 
obtained  the  coveted  edict  for  the  sequestration  of  Luther's 
books  and  the  order  for  the  apprehension  of  Luther's  person. 
But  in  the  very  moment  of  his  triumph 

unfortunately  the  princes  were  summoned  to  the  Emperor  in 
another  matter.  The  purport  of  our  discussion  was  indeed  com- 
municated to  the  Emperor,  but  it  was  decided,  before  taking  fur- 
ther action,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mayence, 
who  is  the  regular  presiding  officer  of  the  Council  of  State,  and 
who,  as  Chancellor  of  Germany,  holds  the  imperial  seal. 

The  unfortunate  interruption  was  caused  by  Maximilian 
von  Zevenbcrgen,  who  had  expelled  Duke  Ulrich  of  Wuert- 
temberg  from  his  country  and  with  bold  aggressiveness  and 
political  far-sightedness  was  agitating  for  joining  the  coun- 
tries occupied  by  his  Suabian  League  to  Austria  and  the 
Hapsburg  dynasty.  He  had  been  acting  governor  of  the 
occupied  territory,  and  the  question  now  was  whether  he 
should  be  given  an  imperial  patent  of  office. 

Modesty  was  the  least  of  Aleander's  weaknesses.  When 
the  Council  of  State  rose  to  go  into  the  private  room  of  the 
Emperor,  Aleander  entered  with  them,  listened  to  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  Zevenbergen  affair,  and,  then  heard  the  report 
that  was  made  to  the  Emperor  about  the  interrupted  dis- 
cussion of  the  Council.  In  a  few  minutes  he  discovered  that 
he  was  still  far  from  his  goal.     He  relates  to  Medici:— 


ftEVEftSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE.  51 

After  my  entrance  into  the  Emperor's  Privy  Council,  1  iiad 
on  interview  with  the  Grand  Chancellor  Gattinara,i='*^)  who  still 
defended  the  curious  idea  that  it  would  he  a  good  thing  to  have 
Luther  summoned  to  the  Diet.  1  replied  that  J,  too,  would  agree 
to  this  plan,  provided  Luther  would  recant,  which,  however,  as 
far  as  1  can  see,  he  would  never  do  to  all  eternity,  because  of  the 
vastness  of  his  conceit  and  ambition;  and  if  he  did  not  recant  and 
on  account  of  his  safe-conduct  could  not  be  punished,  the  moral 
judgment  of  the  world  would  be  confused,  and  everybody  would 
be  led  to  the  opinion  that  he,  together  with  his  godless  teaching, 
had  been  found  to  be  in  the  right.  For  this  very  reason  the 
Lutherans  passionately  desire  their  Mahomet  to  come,  and  are 
already  proclaiming  from  all  the  housetops  that  he  will  come  and 
work  miracles.  If  it  were  agreeable,  my  honored  patron,  to  the 
commission  entrusted  to  me  by  the  Pope,  and  if  only  my  name 
were  placed  in  jeopardy,  by  God!  I  could  wish  for  nothing  so 
much  as  to  match  myself  against  this  Satan.  As  I  cannot  do 
this  while  he  is  absent,  I  intend,  immediately  after  the  completion 
of  my  task,  to  write  against  him  without  appealing  to  writings 
which  he  rejects.  So  much  occasion  to  refute  him  have  I  found 
in. his  last  treatise,^'^!)  on  which  he  and  his  followers  have  spent 
all  their  diligence. 

Llowever,  as  I  remarked,  it  is  not  permissible  to  draw  the 
primacy  of  the  Pope  into  discussion,  and  to  submit  it  to  the  judg- 
ment of  laymen,  many  of  whom  are  already  tainted  with  heresy. 
Moreover,  according  to  what  process  and  before  what  judges  is 
a  debate  to  be  instituted  if  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Pope 
is  to  be  set  aside?  In  his  Protestation  Luther  rejects  as  judges 
the  theologians,  the  philosophers,  the  doctors  of  both  laws,  and 
regards  them  as  entirely  insignificant  and,  above  all,  as  suspected 
men. 

Aleander  gained  nothing  in  the  Privy  Council.  The 
Emperor  confirmed  the  resolution  of  the  Council  of  State  to 
postpone  action  until  the  arrival  of  the  Archbishop  of  May- 
ence  and  of  others. 

In   his  letter  to   Pucci,  Aleander   finally   relates: — 

On    the    same    day   the    Bishop   of    Liege    gave    a    dinner    to 

Chievres  and  other  princes,  to  which  he  also  invited  me.     \Ve 

talked  much  of  Luther's  writings.     There  was  present  a  certain 

magnate,  who  had  Luther's  popular  works  in  his  head  and  was 


130)  Mercurino  dattinara  liad  boRun  his  career  as  a  diplomatist  at  tin- 
League  of  Cambria,  ir)09:  he  was  President  of  the  Parlemeiit  de  Franrhe- 
Comte  in   1.511,   and   (irand  Chancellor   of  the  Netherlands,   If.lS  30. 

131)  The   Babylonian    Captivitx   of   the   Church,   of   October.    1.''.20. 


52  REVERSING    THE    IMPERIAL    ENGINE. 

deeply  tinctured  with  heresy,  but  whose  name,  as  long  as  I  am 
here,  I  dare  not  trust  to  paper,  as  little  as  I  dare  to  set  down  that 
of  another,  still  more  powerful  and  still  worse  heretic;  for  by 
so  doing  I  might,  if  they  found  it  out  while  I  am  still  in  Germany, 
bring  a  storm  about  my  head.  This  gentleman,  after  we  had 
risen  from  table  and  closed  the  doors,  brought  up  many  points, 
which  I  was  able  to  answer  in  the  hearing  of  all  with  such  skill 
that  he  was  completely  won  for  us,  though  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  will  remain  so.  Finally,  Chievres  and  all  the  others 
were  much  edified,  and  began  to  hope  that  the  affair  was  at  last 
getting  on  the  right  track. 

This  reference  to  the  supper  of  the  Bishop  of  Liege  is 
found  also  at  the  end  of  the  letter  to  Medici.  It  was  at- 
tended by  Duke  Frederick,  the  brother  of  the  Elector  Pala- 
tine. At  the  end  of  the  letter  to  Pucci,  Aleander  lets  us  see 
the  rock  on  which  his  scheme  was  wrecked : — 

Not  the  least  cause  for  this  whole  complication,  I  think,  has 
been  furnished  by  the  fear  of  the  court  of  arousing  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Saxon  Elector  and  of  other  lords,  or  by  the 
wish  to  make  our  lord  the  Pope  complaisant  [to  the  Emperor] 
in  other  affairs.  So  I  have  time  and  again  begged  Chievres  and 
the  other  ministers  earnestly  not  to  confound  the  matter  of  faith 
with  other  special  interests  on  which  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor 
have  to  negotiate.  For  as  Luther  in  his  last  book  plainly  aims 
at  the  destruction  of  all  obedience,  first,  towards  the  spiritual 
lords,  next,  at  the  secret  destruction  of  obedience  to  the  secular 
lords,  the  result  of  his  teaching,  if  it  were  to  spread,  would  be 
universal  ruin.     This  argument  has  greatly  helped  our  cause. 

By  way  of  postscript  he  adds : — 

Yesterday  morning,  after  the  consecration  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Palermo, '^•'''-)  at  which  the  Emperor,  the  court,  and  the  cardi- 
nals were  present,  the  Emperor  of  his  own  accord  asked  the 
meaning  of  the  text :  "Whatsoever  ye  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven. "i-"'-"^)  When  he  had  heard  the  explanation,  he 
replied  with  disdain  :  "What  will  this  wretch  of  a  Luther  reply 
to  that?"i34) 

Aleander  had  not  achieved  all  he  had  hoped  for ;  what 
he  did  achieve  did  not  amount  to  much  in  the  end.     But  he 


132)  John  fie  Carondelet,  Primate  of  Sicily,  a  Burgundian,  who  attained 
to  high  office  under  Maximilian,  and  in  l.'i22  was  made  President  of  the 
Privy   Council.      lie  died   in    1544. 

13.3)    Matt.  18,  18. 

134)  BAL,  pp.  19-22;  34-7,  KDA,  pp.  13-G,  28-32;  HAL,  pp.  86-91; 
SC,    1418-20;    425-9. 


A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER.  53 

had  for  a  moment  checked  the  imperial  policy,  and  com- 
pelled the  Emperor  to  cancel  a  step  he  had  already  taken. 
Neither  Aleander  nor  the  Emperor  was  aware  that  they 
had  played  directly  into  the  Elector's  hands. 


7.  A  Check  to  Aleander. 

During  his  series  of  interviews  with  the  imperialists 
Aleander  had  discovered  that  Elector  Frederick  was  the  one 
man  who,  even  in  his  absence,  exerted  on  the  Emperor  and 
his  ministers  an  influence  which  Aleander  could  not  over- 
come by  all  his  fervent  appeals  to  the  loyalty  of  those 
churchmen.  Aleander  had  taken  the  measure  of  every  per- 
sonage that  might  act  an  important  part  at  the  Diet;  of  the 
Saxon  Elector  he  made  a  special  study.  ITis  conflicting 
estimates  of  Frederick's  character  show  that  he  failed  to 
sound  the  quiet  depths  of  this  German  prince's  mind.  About 
the  middle  of  December  he  sends  to  Cardinal  Medici  a  letter 
that  is  entirely  made  up  of  brief  characterizations  of  the 
grandees  and  magnates  whom  he  has  met  sf)  far.  Regarding 
Frederick  he  says  : — 

The  Saxon  is  certainly  an  able  prince,  hut  led  astray  by  his 
counselors,  who  are  all  disciples  of  Luther,  lie  is  angry  at  us.  I 
hear,  on  account  of  a  contuicndinit^'^''^ — a  coadjutorship  to  which 
a  natural  son  of  the  prince^-"'*')  had  already  been  appointed  at 
Rome.  Notwithstanding  this,  and  although  he  was  in  possession 
of  the  certificate  of  appointment,  he  was  obliged,  while  at  P)0- 
logna  on  his  return  to  Germany,  at  the  death  of  the  previous 
occupant,  to  pay  a  large  sum  to  a  cardinal.  The  Elector,  who.  by 
the  way.  is  a  close,  taciturn  man  that  does  not  easily  betray  his 
thoughts,  has  not  yet  been  able  to  get  over  this,  as  one  of  his 
men  told  me.  His  dislike  of  the  clergy  and  his  hatred  of  the 
Archbishop  of   Mayence  arose   from  a  quarrel   over  the  city  of 


135)  The  custody  of  a  benefice  or  living,  or  the  benefice  itself,  com- 
initted  to  n  temporary  holder  who  was  said  to  hold  it  i«  cowwetidam.  »  c. 
till  a  regular  incumbent  was  appointed.  The  custom  was  abolished  in  hng- 
land  by  act  of  Parliament  in  183G.  (Stand.  Diet.)  In  the  present  instance 
the  appointment  was  made  by  the  Poi)e. 

13fi)  Elector  Frederick  was  never  married,  but  left  by  Anna  Welhr  lw.. 
natural   sons.   Sebastian   and    Frederick   von    lessen,   and   a  dauk'liter. 


54  A  CI^CK  TO  ALEANDER. 

Erfurt,  which  has  resulted  in  a  mortal  enmity  between  them. 
Nevertheless,  to  my  great  surprise,  they  converse  with  each  other 
like  tender  brothers ;  and  yet  people  talk  about  Roman  practises 
and  hypocrisy !  As  regards  this  Saxon,  we  shall,  at  the  coming 
Diet,  employ  on  him  every  means  with  the  help  of  the  Emperor 
and  the  other  princes,  and  I  think  we  shall  accomplish  something 
worth  while. ^^") 

But  after  he  had  discovered  that  tlie  imperial  court  was 
averse  to  any  action  against  Luther  that  might  arouse  "the 
displeasure  of  the  Saxon  Elector  or  his  friends,"  he  speaks 
of  Frederick  in  a  different  tone.  In  a  letter  of  December  18 
to  Medici  he  says: — 

That  basilisk,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  has  recently  told  the 
three  Electors  he  had  certain  knowledge  that  the  Pope  would 
like  to  create  Martin  an  archbishop  or  cardinal,  if  the  latter 
would  only  intune  his  recantation.  The  Archbishop  of  Treves 
even  claims  to  have  heard  from  the  Saxon  that  the  Pope  has 
already  made  Luther  such  an  offer.  He  asked  me  the  facts,  and 
held  that  such  an  act  would  cause  general  scandal.  I  explained 
to  him  the  true  state  of  affairs,  and  stated  that  if  any  person 
could  have  knowledge  of  this  affair,  I  would  be  the  one,  for  I 
would  have  been  given  the  order  to  negotiate  it.  Your  Lordship 
must  not  be  surprised  that  Frederick  is  conscienceless  enough  to 
invent  a  pack  of  manifest  lies,  since  he  does  not  fear  to  ruin 
the  Church  of  God.  Why,  every  means  seems  right  to  him  that 
will  accomplish  his  devilish  end.^^^) 

In  the  correspondence  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Elec- 
tor definitive  action  regarding  Luther  had  been  deferred 
until  these  two  could  have  a  personal  conference.  Aleander 
had  ascertained  this  fact,  and  in  his  interviews  with  the  min- 
isters of  Charles  had  been  told  time  and  again  that  the 
Elector's  arrival  must  be  awaited  before  further  steps  could 
be  taken  in  Luther's  case.  Aleander  began  to  scent  treason 
in  the  Elector's  tardy  arrival  at  Worms.  The  Elector  had 
not  attended  the  coronation  at  Aix,  but  had  remained  at 
Cologne,  alleging  an  attack  of  the  gout}^^)  which  Aleander 
diagnosed  as  a  diplomatic  emergency  illness.  Might  not  the 
wily  Elector  indulge  in  another  spell  of  goutiness,  and  fail 


137)  BAL,  p.  26;  KDA,  p.  20;   SC,  1,  421    f. 

138)  BAL,  p.  40;  KDA,  p.  34;  SC,  1,  428. 

139)  RA,  II,  8G;  HAL,   p.   29. 


A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER,  35 

altogether  to  come  to  Worms,  hoping  thus  to  thwart  all 
attempts  to  crush  Luther  by  his  mere  abscMicc?  This  must 
not  be;  the  energetic  Aleander,  who  has  scored  such  signal 
victories  over  the  Emperor  and  his  ministers,  now  begins 
to  importune  Chievres  to  bring  the  Elector  to  Worms  post- 
haste. The  minister  had  to  send  one  urgent  note  after  the 
other  to  the  Elector  to  speed  his  coming  to  Worms.^^*^) 

The  end  of  December  was  near,  and  the  Elector  had 
not  arrived,  nor  had  any  word  from  him  reached  Worms. 
Aleander  now  insists  that  a  delegation  nuist  be  sent  to  the 
Elector,  which  must,  if  possible,  have  an  interview  with  him 
alone,  because  the  Elector's  counselors,  Aleander  says,  arc 
more  Lutheran  than  Luther  himself,  and  the  Elector  yields 
to  them.  For  this  critical  mission  Aleander  picked  the 
Bishop  of  Trieste  and  the  imperial  counselor  Jodocus  as 
capable  and  trustworthy  agents.  He  also  set  to  work  to 
draw  up  instructions  for  them ;  for  the  document  in  question 
that  was  prepared  in  the  imperial  chancellery  is  so  full  of 
the  pet  phrases  and  arguments  of  Aleander  that  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  he  inspired,  or  dictated,  or  furnished  it 
ready-made  to  the  clerks.  The  delegates  are  to  admonish 
the  Elector  to  consider  the  solidarity  of  the  Church,  and  to 
make  a  prudent  distinction  between  actual  malpractises  and 
debatable  questions.  They  are  to  stun  the  Elector  with 
this  poser,  whether  he  really  believed  that  the  Church  had 
been  in  error  through  so  many  centuries,  and  that  Luther 
had  to  come  to  bring  her  the  truth.  They  are  to  throw  the 
proper  light  on  Luther's  bold  polemics  and  his  impudent 
burning  of  the  decretals,  and  are  to  make  it  plain  to  the 
Elector  that  no  layman,  not  even  the  Emperor,  has  a  right 
to  decide  questions  of  faith,  but  only  the  Pope.  They  arc  to 
make  the  Elector  see  that  Luther's  sole  purpose  in  coming 
to  the  Diet  under  a  safe-conduct  is  to  scatter  his  poison 
with  impunity,  and  to  create  the  impression  that  the  Emperor 


140)   On    December    24    lie    writes:     "As    His    Impnial    Majesty    greatly 
desires  your  presence  here,  I  beg  you  again  and  again  to  come,  so  that  yoj) 
may  confer  witli   His  Majesty,  and  all  may  be  settled  by  prudent  counsel. 
RA,   II,  467;   SC,  1,  433. 


56  A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER. 

and  the  princes  approve  his  writings.  Since  he  acknowl- 
edges no  authority  except  the  Scriptures  as  interpreted  by 
himself,  nothing  would  be  gained  by  giving  him  a  hearing, — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  utter  impropriety  of  subjecting  the 
authority  of  the  Pope  and  the  usages  and  doctrines  of  the 
Church  to  a  public  discussion  at  such  a  hearing.  (This  was 
Aleander's  chief  concern!)  The  delegates  are  also  to  warn 
the  Elector  that  the  excommunication  might  be  extended  to 
him,  and  his  country  might  be  placed  under  the  interdict,  if 
he  did  not  force  Luther  to  recant.  However,  if  he  would 
induce  Luther  to  do  this,  the  latter  would  be  restored  to  the 
Pope's  favor.  As  the  immediate  object  of  their  coming  the 
delegates  are  to  name  the  burning  of  Luther's  books  and 
the  imprisonment  of  the  heretic,  which  the  Elector  is  to 
order  at  once,  until  the  Emperor  shall  reach  a  definite  deci- 
sion regarding  Luther.  The  Elector  must  not  be  permitted  to 
plead  his  inability  on  the  ground  that  Luther  has  the  people 
on  his  side.  The  people  follow  their  prince,  and  when  the 
prince  wills,  his  preachers  and  counselors  can  change  the 
people's  mind.  As  soon  as  Luther  loses  the  favor  of  the 
princes,  his  audacity  will  cease.  The  Elector  is  also  to  be 
told  that  in  the  Council  of  State  the  Emperor  has  already 
declared  that  he  will  no  longer  tolerate  Luther's  heresy, 
but  proceed  to  suppress  it  despite  the  former  protest  of  the 
Elector  that  Luther's  writings  had  not  been  properly  re- 
futed. Moreover,  to  give  Luther  a  hearing  at  the  Diet  would 
be  useless  also  for  this  reason,  because  Luther,  if  confuted, 
would  simply  take  another  appeal  to  a  general  council  of 
the  Church,  as  he  had  done  at  his  conference  with  Cajetan 
at  Augsburg.  Finally,  they  are  to  remind  the  Elector  that 
the  authority  of  emperors  and  electors  is  derived  from  the 
Pope,  and  that  the  ruin  of  the  papacy  must  involve  the  ruin 
of  every  other  authority  then  existing.^'*')  This  last  appeal 
is  a  piece  of  magnificent  audacity  on  the  part  of  Aleander ; 


141)  RA,  II,  74;  HAL,  p.  94  f.  The  account  of  the  instruction  to  the 
delegates  is  from  p.  87  to  97  of  Monumenta  Reformationis  Lutlieranae,  by 
Pietro  Balan,  Subarchivary  of  the  Secret  Archives  of  the  Vatican,  pub- 
lished at  Regensburg,   1883, 


A   CHECK  TO  ALEANDER.  57 

for  at  the  moment  nothing  was  plainer  to  men  of  i)uhlic 
affairs  than  the  al)sokite  helplessness  of  the  Pope  when 
stripped  of  imperial  support.  It  was  no  ordinary  rogue  that 
had  been  engaged  to  prop  up  the  tottering  frame  of  hier- 
archical autocracy.  To  assert  supremacy  in  the  face  of 
manifest  impotence  is  desperate  conceit  and  brazen  impu- 
dence such  as  Milton  has  pictured  in  the  fallen  angels. 

Aleander's  feverish  zeal  was  supererogatory.  When  the 
Emperor's  second  letter  to  the  Elector  was  dispatched,  the 
latter  was  already  on  his  way  to  Worms.  From  Spangen- 
l)erg  in  Hessia  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the 
Emperor  December  28  : — 

With  due  respect  and  humbly  1  have  received  and  noted  the 
contents  of  the  letter  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty,  dated  December 
17  and  delivered  to  me  on  the  27th  inst.  In  reply  I  humbly  beg 
to  inform  Your  Imperial  Majesty  that  upon  Your  Imperial  Maj- 
esty's gracious  request  I  have  started  from  my  home  and  have 
now  completed  half  the  journey  to  Worms.  Accordingly,  the 
letter  of  Your  Imperial  Majesty  did  not  reach  me  at  home. 
Moreover,  in  my  letter  to  Your  Imperial  Majesty  I  lnmil)ly  indi- 
cated that  it  would  be  a  difficult  task  for  me  to  bring  Luther 
with  me  to  the  Diet.  For  this  reason  I  was  prompted  to  inform 
Your  Imperial  Majesty  in  writing  concerning  this  matter,  and 
I  trust  that  my  letter  has  now  reached  Your  Imperial  Majesty. 
As  Your  Imperial  Majesty  has  graciously  bidden  me  leave  Luther 
at  home  while  Your  Imperial  Majesty  would  treat  of  the  affair 
with  me  orally,  I  am  humbly  hoping  that  Your  Imperial  Majesty 
has  graciously  noted  my  answer. ^^2) 

Evidently  the  Elector  still  entertained  the  belief  that 
nothing  would  be  undertaken  against  Luther  until  the  Em- 
peror had  conferred  with  him.  Aleander's  delegation  had 
not  yet  started  when  this  letter  arrived  at  Worms,  but  Ale- 
ander  had  gained  another  point  in  his  fight  for  the  execution 
of  the  bull  against  Luther.  In  a  session  of  the  Council  on 
December  29  it  was  conceded  to  the  Emperor  that  upon  his 
own  initiative  he  might  issue  a  mandate  against  Luther.  The 
Archbishop  of  Mayence  as  Chancellor  of  the  Empire  was 
instructed  to  prepare  the  mandate.     The  .Archbishop  wisely 

142)   X\',  1704  f. 


58  A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER. 

reflected  upon  the  disastrous  effect  of  the  mandate  on  him- 
self; no  doubt,  a  rebellion  would  break  out  at  once  in  his 
diocese,  Sickingen  would  sally  forth  from  the  Ebernburg 
and  pounce  on  Mayence  first,  and,  upon  the  whole,  the  busi- 
ness assigned  to  him  was  too  utterly  unpleasant.  He  dallied 
and  procrastinated. 

When  the  Elector's  letter  arrived,  containing  the  laconic 
remark  that  he  humbly  came  to  confer  with  His  Gracious 
Majesty  according  to  their  agreement,  all  further  action 
seemed  useless.  The  Archbishop  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief, 
and  Aleander  groaned:  the  slow  and  quiet  Saxon  had  check- 
mated the  sleek  and  nimble  Italian. 

Meanwhile  Frederick  continued  his  journey.  In  a  cordial 
New  Year's  greeting  from  Giessen  he  informs  his  brother 
John,  January  2,  that  he  has  spent  New  Year's  Day  with 
Landgrave  Philip,  who  had  come  to  meet  him  with  many 
horsemen  and  had  given  him  a  royal  reception.  He  writes 
that  he  is  starting  for  Putzbach  and  intends  to  be  at  Frank- 
fort to-morrow,  and  to  arrive  at  Worms  on  Saturday, 
January  5,^^^) 

This  program  was  carried  out.  On  Saturday  the  Em- 
peror, attended  by  his  courtiers  and  the  princes  who  had  so 
far  arrived  at  the  Diet,  went  to  meet  the  Elector  outside  the 
city  gates  and  gave  him  an  impressive  reception  and,  to  all 
appearances,  a  very  cordial  greeting.  It  was  plain  to  all 
who  witnessed  or  took  part  in  the  scene  that  with  the  Elector 
"the  grand  old  man"  of  the  Empire  and  the  indispensable 
political  factor  for  the  operations  of  the  Diet  had  arrived. 
Quarters  had  been  engaged  for  the  Elector's  suite  in  the 
Kaemmcrergasse,  the  principal  street  of  the  city,  at  the 
Hostel  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John;  for  himself  the  Elector 
chose  a  quiet  lodging  in  the  immediate  neighborhood. 

The  Elector  soon  discovered  that  Luther's  case  was  not  a 
private  matter  in  which  he  and  the  Emperor  were  specially 
interested,  but  a  national  affair  of  absorbing  interest  to  all 
the  delegates.    Everybody  was  discussing  it  and  taking  sides 


143)   FNU,  I,  p.  4. 


A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER.  59 

for  or  against  Luther.  In  a  letter  of  January  .  16  to  his 
brother  John,  the  Elector  expresses  his  joy  that  Luther's 
books  are  gladly  read  by  the  Duke  and  his  son,i'-^)  and 
says : — 

I  wish  to  tell  you  that  I  am  being  informed  of  daily  plot- 
tings  against  Doctor  Martin :  he  is  to  be  outlawed  and  perse- 
cuted to  the  uttermost.  The  gentlemen  with  the  red  hats  [the 
cardinals]  and  the  Romanists  with  their  following  are  behind  this 
scheme.  But  there  are  also  many  people  who  wish  him  well. 
May  God  in  His   mercy  overrule  everything  for  our  good!^^-'') 

Among  the  Romanists  that  were  making  trouble  the  good 
old  Elector  was  particularly  grieved  to  find  his  own  brother, 
Duke  George  of  Saxony.i^^) 

Immediately  after  his  arrival,  Frederick  conferred  with 
the  Emperor  concerning  Luther.  From  an  account  of  the 
Elector's  counselor  Brueck,  given  to  Glapion  some  time  later, 
we  learn  that  the  Elector  urged  upon  Charles  with  great 
earnestness  his  old  request  that  Luther's  case  be  submitted 
to  new  and  impartial  judges.  The  Emperor's  advisers  had 
only  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  withdrawal  of  their  original 
plan  under  the  pressure  of  Aleander ;  Gattinara  had  flatly 
refused  his  consent  to  the  revoking  of  the  Emperor's  letter 
to  the  Elector  from  Oppenheim.  They  were  not  yet  sure 
of  the  Pope's  loyalty.  The  Elector's  plea  at  once  had  their 
support,  and  Glapion,  the  Emperor's  confessor,  found  it 
convenient  to  side  with  them,  in  order  to  have  his  hand 
in  any  new  arrangement  that  might  be  made  in  Luther's 
affair.  Accordingly,  the  Emperor  gave  his  "dear  uncle"  the 
most  gracious  assurance  that  "Luther  should  be  heard  and 
not  crushed."  The  Elector  promptly  had  Luther  informed 
of  this  turn  in  his  affair,  and  received  from  Luther  the 
following  reply,  dated  January  25 : — 

Most  serene,  high-born  Prince,  most  gracious  Lord !  My 
poor  prayers  and  humble  obedience  arc  always  at  Your  Grace's 
service. 


144)  John   Frederick,  tlic  sun  of  Duke  John,  is  also  callid  "son"  l.y  ih.- 
Elector,  who   was  his  godfather. 

145)  FNU,   I,   p.   5;    SC,   1,   444. 

146)  FNU,  I,  p.  8. 


60  A  CHECK  TO  ALEANDER. 

I  have  received  with  humble  thankfuhiess  and  pleasure  Your 
Grace's  information  about  His  Imperial  and  Royal  Majesty's  in- 
tentions regarding  my  affair, 'and  I  humbly  thank  His  Imperial 
Majesty  and  Your  Grace  for  your  favor.  I  rejoice  from  my 
heart  that  His  Imperial  Majesty  purposes  to  take  up  this  busi- 
ness, which  is  God's,  Christendom's,  and  the  German  nation's 
rather  than  mine  or  that  of  any  other  individual. 

Accordingly,  I  once  more  declare  myself  humbly  ready,  as  I 
have  always  done  in  many  offers  that  I  have  made,  especially  in 
the  one  which  has  been  published  heretofore,  and  of  which  I 
am  herewith  sending  Your  Grace  a  copy,!^''')  namely,  to  do  and 
to  forego  all  that  I  can  with  due  reverence  to  God  and  with 
Christian  honor,  or  all  that  I  shall  be  convinced  by  honorable, 
Christian,  and  sufficient  reasons  of  Holy  Writ  that  I  ought  to 
do  or  forego. 

Therefore  I  humbly  pray  Your  Grace  to  intercede  for  me 
with  His  Imperial  Majesty,  to  the  end  that  I  may  be  provided 
with  sufficient  protection  and  a  free  safe-conduct  against  all 
violence,  which  I  have  reason  to  anticipate ;  and  that  His  Im- 
perial Majesty  arrange  for  a  hearing  of  my  cause  before  godly, 
learned,  reasonable,  unsuspected,  and  Christian  men,  both  clergy- 
men and  laymen,  who  are  well  grounded  in  the  Bible  and  have 
understanding  and  discriminating  judgment  of  divine  and  human 
laws  and  ordinances.  Let  such  men  jointly  hear  me,  and  that, 
for  God's  sake ;  and  let  no  force  be  used  against  me  until  I  have 
been  proved  to  be  unchristian  and  wrong.  Let  His  Alajesty, 
as  a  temporal  head  of  Christendom,  in  the  mean  time  restrain  my 
adversaries,  the  Papists,  from  accomplishing  their  raging,  un- 
christian plans  against  me,  such  as  burning  my  books  and 
grimly  laying  snares  for  my  body,  honor,  well-being,  life,  and 
salvation,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  I  have  not  been  tried 
and  convicted.  And  if  I,  more  for  the  protection  of  the  divine, 
evangelic  truth  than  for  the  sake  of  my  own  little  and  unworthy 
person,  have  done  aught  against  them,  or  shall  be  compelled 
to  do  aught,  may  His  Majesty  graciously  excuse  my  necessary 
self-defense,  and  keep  me  in  his  gracious  care  to  save  the 
divine  Word.  I  now  confidently  commit  myself  to  the  virtue 
and  grace  of  His  Majesty,  and  of  Your  Grace,  and  all  Chris- 
tian   princes,   as   to   my   most   gracious    lords. 

And  so  I  am,  in  humble  obedience,  ready,  in  case  I  obtain 
sufficient  surety  and  a  safe-conduct,  to  appear  before  the  next 
Diet  at  Worms,  and  before  learned,  godly,  and  unsuspected 
judges,  to  answer   to   them   with   the  help  of   the   Almighty,   in 


147)    His  Protestation   und  Erbictcit,   XV,   13t)4   f. 


A    SENSATION    AT  A   FUNERAL.  61 

order  that  all  men  may  know  in  truth  that  I  have  hitherto  done 
nothing  from  criminal,  reckless,  disordered  motives,  for  the 
sake  of  worldly  honor  and  profit,  hut  that  all  that  1  have  written 
and  taught  has  heen  consistent  with  my  concicnce  and  according 
to  my  sworn  duty  as  a  humble  teacher  of  the  Holy  Hil.le  to 
the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  profit  and  salvation  of  the  whole 
Christian  Church,  and  the  advantages  of  the  German  nation,  Uy 
the  end  of  extirpating  dangerous  abuses  and  superstitions,  and 
of  freeing  the  Christian  Church  from  such  infinite.  innumcral)le. 
unchristian,  and  damnable  tyrannical  injury,  molestation,  and 
blasphemy. 

Your  Grace  and  tlis  Majesty  will.  T  trust,  have  an  eye  and 
a  care  with  respect  to  the  much  troiil)led  state  of  the  whole 
Christian  Church.  As  Your  Grace's  chaplain  I  am  humbly  and 
dutifully  bound  to  pray  God  for  Mis  mercy  and  favor  upon  you 
and  His  Imperial  Majesty  at  all  times. 

Your  Grace's  obedient  and   humble  chaplain, 

Martin   Luther. i'^) 

It  has  been  well-nigh  impossible  to  reproduce  all  the  sub- 
missive terms  with  which  this  letter  is  replete,  but  through 
all  its  deferential  language  there  runs  a  current  of  manly 
determination.  The  Elector  liked  it;  for  it  is  a  curious  fact 
that  in  his  letters  from  Worms  he  speaks  more  frequently 
and  tenderly  in  terms  of  affection  about  Luther  than  at 
any  previous  time.  Luther's  noble  unselfishness  was  warm- 
ing the  heart  of  the  aged  Elector,  and  confirming  him  in  his 
purpose  to  secure  for  him  a  fair  trial. 


8.  A  Sensation  at  a  Funeral. 

On  a  solemn  occasion  during  these  days  Aleandcr's  plans 
were  given  another  setback,  and  the  entire  faction  of  the 
Romanists  received  a  rude  jolt.  On  January  21  there  were 
gathered  at  the  cathedral  of  Worms  all  the  notables  of  the 
Empire  to  attend  the  pompous  obsequies  of  the  I^rimate  of 
v^pain.  The  deceased  was  not  a  hoary-headed  church  father. 
as    his    exalted    station    would    lead    one    to    suppose,    but    a 


IIS)    XV,   1988;   Erl.   Ed.  53,   50;   SL,   p.   100   f. 


62  A   SENSATION   AT  A   FUNERAL. 

very  young  man  hardly  out  of  his  teens.  Nor  had  he  died 
in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  as  would  seem  to  befit  a  pillar  of 
the  Church.  H«  had  been  a  gay  young  prelate,  and  death 
had  overtaken  him  under  distressing  circumstances':  he  had 
been  thrown  from  his  horse  during  a  chase  on  Epiphany 
Sunday,  January  6,  had  burst  an  artery,  and  died  the  same 
night.  When  the  news  of  this  event  reached  Luther,  he 
wrote  to  Spalatin  February  3 : — 

Wonderful  is  the  boldness  of  Christ,  who  dared  to  kill  so 
great  a  cardinal  in  the  midst  of  the  Diet,  fearing  neither  his 
creator  [the  Pope]  nor  the  creature.  Link  writes  that  a  similar 
creature  perished  in  like  manner  in  Hungary.i^O) 

A  favored  child  of  fortune,  William  de  Croy  had  been 
made  cardinal-deacon,  with  the  title  "S.  Mariae  in  Aquiro," 
in  1517,  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  At  the  death  of  the  famous 
Ximenez,  Charles  V  had  appointed  him  Archbishop  of  To- 
ledo, and  therewith  Primate  of  Spain.  His  uncle  was  the 
Duke  de  Chievres,  the  Emperor's  Prime  Minister.  For 
political  reasons  the  death  of  his  nephew  was  kept  secret 
for  several  days.  The  Spaniards  had  been  scandalized 
when  Charles  had  appointed  the  young  milksop  successor 
to  the  great  Ximenez.  Just  at  this  time  the  Communeros 
were  rioting  throughout  Spain.  If  they  would  learn  of  the 
young  Primate's  death,  it  was  likely  that  they  would  insist 
on  the  appointment  of  a  successor  hostile  to  Charles.  Hence 
the  suppression  of  the  news  of  de  Croy's  death  and  the 
faulty  statement  in  some  old  chronicles,  which  say  that  it 
occurred  on  January  10  or  11;  hence,  too,  the  delay  of  the 
funeral. 

The  sensation  at  the  magnificent  exequies  of  de  Croy 
was  caused  by  the  funeral  orator.  This  distinguished  func- 
tion had  been  assigned  to  the  Dominican  Prior  of  Augsburg, 
John  Faber,  whom  we  met  in  the  company  of  Erasmus  at 
Mayence,   advocating   a   decent   treatment   of   Luther,     The 


149)  XXIs,  330;  EB,  3,  81;  SC,  1,  451, 


A   SENSATION   AT  A   FUNERAL.  63 

English  ambassador,  Ciithbert  Tunstall,i''>o)  was  in  the  serv- 
ice, and  immediately  after  the  funeral  sent  Cardinal  Wolsey 
the  following  report : — 

At  the  exequies  of  the  Cardinal  of  Croy,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Electors,  the  Emperor,  the  Pope's  ambassador,  and  the 
cardinals,  a  friar  preacher  made  a  sermon,  and  in  the  beginning 
said  the  Pope  was  Vicarius  Christi  in  spintualibus  [Vicar  of 
Christ  in  spiritual  matters],  and  the  cardinals  and  bishops  were 
(ipostoli  [messengers  of  the  Vicar],  etc.  But  how  his  tongue 
turned  in  his  head  I  cannot  tell;  but  after  (that  is,  later)  he 
concluded  that  the  Emperor,  when  they  do  amiss,  should  reform 
their  abuses,  etiam  usque  ad  dcpositioiicm  [even  to  the  extreme 
of  deposing  them  from  office]. ^^i) 

Well  might  the  sober  Briton  be  astonished  at  this  daring 
effort  of  the  preacher,  and  imagine  the  man  had  suffered  a 
mental  derailment.  Faber  called  upon  the  Emperor  and  the 
princes  present  to  proceed  to  Italy  and  reform  the  cardinals. 
Unabashed  by  the  presence  of  the  papal  nuncios,  he  asserted 
the  authority  of  the  Emperor  to  depose  the  Pope  and  the 
cardinals.  The  oration  was  delivered  in  German,  and  had 
been  well  understood  also  by  the  common  people.  The  audi- 
ence was  dumbfounded,  and  animated  discussions  of  the 
merits  of  the  oration  took  place  outside  of  the  church.  The 
day  after  the  funeral  a  gentleman  whom  we  shall  meet  later 
on  an  august  mission  of  the  Empire,  Kaspar  Storm,  ex- 
pressed his  satisfaction  with  Faber's  effort  to  a  dissatisfied 
Romanist  with  such  fervor  that  he  threatened  to  throw  the 
Romanist  into  the  Rhine.  Storm  was  so  ably  seconded  by 
some  imperial  halberdiers  who  had  joined  the  group  that  a 
general  fight  seemed  innninent.  Aleander  was  in  a  rage,  and 
marked  both  Faber  and  Storm  for  spicy  memoranda  in  his 
next  dispatch  to  Rome.^"'*^) 


150)  Tunstall  (1474-1559)  studiefl  at  Oxford  an<l  CambridKO  an.l  in 
Italy.  Having  returned  to  England  by  Decrmbcr,  1500.  he  became  Chan- 
cellor to  Archbishop  Warham  of  Canterbury  in  1509.  He  was  ambassador 
to  Charles  1515,  1519,  and  1520-1.  In  1522  he  was  made  Bishop  of  l.ondon, 
in  1530  Bishop  of  Durham.  He  remained  a  Catholic.  His  writings  on 
inatht-matics  enjoyed  some  reputation    (Rabelais,   I,   chap.   23).   SC,   1,   445   f. 

151)  Brewer,   Rei(jn   of  Hcnrv    VIII,    I.   r.l5;    SC,    1,4  47. 

152)  In  his  letter  of  .\pril  13  he  expresses  indignation  at  the  base 
ingratitude  of  Faber,  upon  whom  the  Pope  had  showered  benefits,  and  who 
had  now  so  shamelessly  slandered  his  lord  and  benefactor.  Storm  he  calls 
"un  matto  protervo,  viiinicissimo  del  clcro,  sbajaffunc"  (a  supercilious 
fool,  a  fierce  priest-baiter,  a  blustering  boor.)     BAL,  p.  139;  KDA,  p.  130  f. 


64  A    SENSATION    AT   A   FUNERAL. 

How  is  Faber's  action  to  be  understood?  Was  it  mere 
tactlessness  that  led  him  into  his  oratorical  outbreak?  In 
that  case  he  would  have  been  made  to  apologize.  But  when 
Aleander  complained  to  the  Emperor  about  "the  blasphemies" 
to  which  he  was  made  to  listen,  he  gained  so  little  that  the 
Emperor  even  appointed  Faber  preacher  for  the  Lenten  sea- 
son which  was  about  to  begin,  as  if  he  meant  to  inaugurate 
a  reforrnation  of  the  cardinals  right  then  and  there.  Was 
Faber  a  pro-Eutheran?  Far  from  it.  He  had  lived — and 
died  in  1531 — an  opponent  of  the  Reformation,  against 
which  he  published  several  writings.  Even  in  his  funeral 
oration  Faber  had  called  on  the  Emperor  to  take  steps 
against  Luther,  if  the  Pope  w^ould  not  or  could  not  settle 
the  strife.  Was  Faber  really  concerned  about  a  reformation 
of  the  cardinals?  True,  the  fact  that  he  was  burying  a 
cardinal,  and  one  who  had  not  been  a  model  clergyman, 
might  seem  to  have  suggested  to  him  his  subject;  but  it  is 
not  likely  that  he  would  have  dealt  so  ungraciously  with 
the  memory  of  the  man  whom  he  had  been  chosen  to  honor. 
Nor  would  he  have  advocated  such  a  violent  measure  for  the 
reformation  of  the  Curia  as  a  campaign  against  Italy. 

Faber's  oration  was  for  political  ends.  His  appointment 
to  this  function  was  meant  as  an  honor  to  the  deceased: 
Faber  had  been  the  court-preacher  of  the  late  Emperor 
Maximilian,  and  was  now  serving  Charles  in  the  same 
capacity.  The  Emperor  distinguished  his  dead  favorite  by 
placing  his  court-preacher  in  the  pulpit  on  this  occasion. 
After  the  oration  it  was  rumored  that  Faber  had  previously 
expressed  similar  opinions  in  a  document  addressed  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Mayence,  in  which  he  had  pleaded  for  a 
writ  of  supersedeas  in  the  trial  of  Luther.  He  had  argued 
that  in  no  controversy  of  the  ancient  Church  had  the  decision 
rested  solely  with  the  Pope ;  nor  had  any  of  the  heretics  in 
the  ancient  Church  been  cited  to  Rome  and  received  his 
sentence  there.  Accordingly,  the  present  controversy  of 
Luther  ought  to  be  referred  to  a  commission  of  eleven 
judges,  four  to  be  appointed  by  the  four  Catholic  kings  and 
the  rest  by  the  Electors.     These  judges  must  not  hurry  their 


A    SENSATION    AT   A   FUNERAL.  65 

work ;  they  must  first  come  to  an  agreement  on  the  question 
of  the  reformation  of  the  Church  and  many  cognate  ques- 
tions, which  might  fully  engage  them  for  an  entire  year. 
Meanwhile  the  Roman  See  would  have  to  practise  patience, 
and  the  Emperor  might  impose  silence  on  both  sides  to  the 
controversy.  These  sentiments  of  Faber  were  known  to 
Charles  and  his  ministers,  and  it  was  found  opportune  to 
make  use  of  them.  The  Pope,  the  Republic  of  Venice,  and 
France  were  planning  an  alliance  against  the  Emperor.  To 
frustrate  this  scheme,  they  must  be  intimidated.  This  could 
be  done  by  such  a  suggestion  as  Faber  made,  vi^.,  that,  in- 
asmuch as  Italy  was  still  a  part  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
Charles  might  find  it  necessary  to  assert  his  right  in  that 
country,  and  France  must  not  rely  too  much  on  the  support 
of  the  Pope.  The  Cardinal  of  Sitten^^-*^)  is  said  to  have 
inspired  this  oration,  and  Chievres  unquestionably  sanctioned 
it  because  it  agreed  with  his  general  policy. 

To  Aleander  the  oration  was  the  worst  humiliation  he  had 
so  far  suffered.  Finding  himself  balked  in  every  move  he 
made  since  the  Elector  had  arrived  at  Worms,  and  observ- 
ing that  the  German  princes  were  assuming  an  ever  bolder 
front,  he  conceived  a  fierce  hatred  of  all  Germans.  About 
the  time  of  this  funeral  he  must  have  made  the  lurid  remark 
which  Luther  reports  to  Link  February  S.^^'*)  In  that  hor- 
rible prediction  of  Aleander  are  embraced  the  miseries  of 


1  .').•})  Matthew  Schinner,  a  Swiss,  made  Bishop  of  Sittcn  1499,  made 
Cardinal  May  10,  1511;  l'\4)riiary,  1512,  Bishop  of  Novara.  A  strong  sup- 
porter of  tiie  Medicis,  he  had  great  influence  with  I.eo  X.  He  was 
ambassador  to  Henry  VIII  in  1516;  in  1521  he  was  sent  to  Switzerland 
to  raise  troops,  with  which  the  Pope  was  able  to  drive  the  French  from 
Lombardy.  In  March,  1522,  he  submitted  a  scheme  of  reform  to  Adrian 
\  I.      He  died   October  1,   1522.      SC,  1,   453. 

154)  See  chap.  2  in  this  book. — Link  reported  this  statement  of 
Aleander  to  Scheurl,  who,  in  turn,  transmitted  it  to  Hector  Poemer. 
(Briefb.  II,  42l?  f.)  It  is  also  found  in  Hutten's  luicctiva  in  Hieroti. 
Alcandr.  (Boeck.  Opp.  H,  15),  in  Simon  Hess's  Frag  mid  Antwort  (ibid. 
1\'.  611),  and  in  a  letter  of  Bernh.  v.  Ilirschfeld,  who,  on  February  25, 
writes  from  Worms  to  .\nton  Tuchcr  at  Nuremberg  that  the  Emperor 
intends  peremptorily  to  outlaw  Luther;  but  such  an  action,  he  says, 
"would  cause  a  great  riot  and  revolution  in  the  Empire,  and  lead  to  the 
very  result  which  the  Pope  and  his  followers  diligently  seek  to  achieve,  viz., 
that  we  Germans  persecute  each  other  and  in  the  mean  time  forget  the 
Papists,  who  would  thus  remain  unreformed."     XV,  1711;  EB,  3,  80. 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    OF    CAESAR.  5 


66  LIFE  AT  WORMS  DURING  THE  DIET. 

Lutheran  Germany  during  the  next  century.  Rome's  Rule- 
or-Ruin  policy  has  nowhere  been  appHed  with  greater  per- 
sistency and  more  tehng  effect  than  against  the  land  that 
dared  to  back  Luther  in  his  fight  against  papal  absolutism. 


9.  Life  at  Worms  During  the  Diet. 

The  Diet  had  been  summoned  to  meet  on  Epiphany  Sun- 
day; it  was  not  opened  till  January  28,  owing  chiefly  to  the 
tardy  arrival  of  the  members.  The  Saxon  Elector  had  ar- 
rived promptly  on  January  5,  but  the  delegation  from 
Brandenburg,  for  instance,  with  Elector  Joachim  at  their 
head,  passed  through  Wittenberg  on  their  way  to  Worms  as 
late  as  January  16.  On  that  day  Luther  sends  this  piece  of 
news  to  Spalatin: — 

To-day  1  appeared  before  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  and 
his  company  of  princes  ;^^^^^  I  had  been  called  for  an  interview, 
for  they  wanted  to  see  the  man   (hominem,  that  is,  Luther^.^^^) 

This  uncanonical  interview  with  an  excommunicated  here- 
tic shows  that  the  Pope's  ban  sat  lightly  even  on  such  an  or- 
thodox conscience  as  that  of  the  Brandenburg  Elector,  one  of 
the  staunchest  Romanists  in  Germany.  Perhaps  the  thrifty 
Hohenzollern  deferred  to  the  wishes  of  his  company;  he 
may  even  have  made  a  slight  detour  to  pass  through  Wit- 
tenberg. But  it  is  possible,  too,  that  he  wanted  to  study  the 
psychological  effects  of  the  papal  anathema  and  get  a  close 
view  of  its  victim.  If  so,  he  found  Luther  ready  to  give  a 
reason  for  the  hope  that  was  in  him,  and  received  a  fore- 
taste of  that  scene  three  months  later  when  he  saw  the  monk 
standing  before  the  Emperor,  an  event  for  which  he  surely 
was  not  looking  at  this  time,  and  which  he  tried  to  fore- 
stall with  all  his  might  when  at  Worms. 


155)  In  the  company  was  Duke  Albrecht  of  Mecklenburg  (1486-1547) 
who  began  to  reign  in  conjunction  with  his  uncle  and  brothers  in  1503. 
When  the  land  was  partitioned  on  May  7,  1520,  he  got  the  duchy  of 
Guestrow,  In  1531  he  tried  unsuccessfully  for  the  Danish  crown.  SC,  1, 
442. 

15G)   XV,  250G;  EB,  3,  74;  CS,  1,  442. 


LIFE  AT   WORMS  DURING   THE  DIET.  67 

Duke  Bogislav  X  passed  through  Wittenberg  February  3. 
On  that  day  Luther  writes  to  Spalatin : — 

I  dined  with  Duke  Bogislav  of  Pomerania,  who  also  heard 
my  sermon  at  the  parish  church  to-day  (Sexagesima  Sunday ).i^'i') 

Philip  of  Hesse  arrived  at  Worms  January  16,  the  Dukes 
of  Bavaria  and  the  Bishops  of  Bamberg  and  Wuerzburg 
were  expected  to  arrive  January  28,  the  Brandenburgers  soon 
after  that  date.  Duke  John  of  Saxony  arrived  February  7, 
etc. 

While  the  tardy  delegates  with  the  complacent  leisure 
of  German  magnates  are  proceeding  to  their  waiting  mon- 
arch at  Worms,  we  may  let  the  old  chroniclers  and  letter- 
writers  describe  to  us  life  as  it  was  in  the  famous  city  on  the 
Rhine  in  the  days  of  the  Diet.  The  Diet  utterly  overtaxed 
the  hospitality  of  the  city.  Elector  Frederick  had  promised 
to  find  quarters  for  his  brother  John.  After  a  long  search 
he  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  own  quarters  three 
rooms,  which  he  had  difficulty  in  renting  from  the  Domini- 
cans.    He  writes  his  brother : — 

I  know  that  your  Honor  has  no  idea  what  the  condition  of 
the  inns  at  this  place  is.  Good  beds  are  scarcely  to  be  had ; 
besides,  it  is  not  easy  to  make  up  your  mind  to  sleep  in  them. . . . 
Accordingly,  I  send  you  a  friendly  warning  to  bring  beds  with 
you  for  yourself  and  our  son.i^^) 

The  representative  of  the  city  of  Strassburg  with  a  com- 
pany of  gentlemen  wandered  through  all  the  streets  and 
alleys  of  the  city  for  several  days  in  search  of  a  lodging. 
When  he  had  claimed  a  lodging  one  day,  it  was  taken  away 
from  him  the  next  day  by  the  imperial  quartermaster.  He 
made  complaint  to  the  imperial  chamberlain  and  had  his  lodg- 
ing returned  to  him.  But  now  the  priests  of  St.  Paul,  who 
owned  the  house,  created  new  trouble  for  him  by  demanding 
four  gulden  a  week  for  the  lodging.  The  gentleman  con- 
sidered this  profiteering,  and  appealed  to  the  burgomaster, 
who  advised  him  to  make  no  contract  with  the  monks,  but 
insist  that  they  must  not  charge  him  more  than   the  price 


157)  XXIa,  330;  EB.  3,  8;  SC,  1,  451. 

158)  FNU,  I,  pp.  6,  7,  10, 


68  LIFE  AT  WORMS  DURING  THE  DIET. 

fixed  by  the  city  ordinance  for  innkeepers.  For  his  bed, 
kitchen  utensils,  wood,  and  coal  the  representative  had  to 
send  to  Strassburg.  Elector  Frederick  advised  his  brother 
to  have  wine  and  all  provisions  sent  to  him  during  his  stay 
at  Worms;  for  the  "godly  Jews"^^^)  had  inaugurated  a 
most  ungodly  era  of  H.  -C.  L.  A  quail  sold  for  four  albi, 
a  duck  for  three  and  a  half,  a  single  room  for  an  albus  a 
day.  By  April  24  the  Elector  had  spent  for  himself  and  his 
retinue  12,000  gulden,  half  of  which  he  still  owed  when  he 
left  Worms.  Firewood  was  at  a  premium,  and  the  winter 
of  1520-'21  was  not  a  mild  one.  The  princes  had  fastened 
their  escutcheons  to  the  stacks  of  cord-wood  along  the  Rhine, 
thus  claiming  the  supply  for  themselves.  These  claim  signs 
were  removed,  and  the  servants  fought,  regular  battles  for 
the  fuel.  Fish,  as  a  rule  very  cheap  along  the  Rhine,  com- 
manded exorbitant  prices.  Stables  for  horses  and  fodder 
were  still  more  scarce.  The  representative  of  the  city  of 
Frankfort  wrote  home : — 

The  princes  cannot  all  be  placed  in  lodgings.  To-day  one  will 
set  up  his  colors  in  an  inn ;  to-morrow  some  one  comes  and  tears 
them  down.  Fist-fights  are  the  order  of  the  day.  Last  night 
there  was  a  riot  at  our  inn.  More  than  twenty  knives  were 
brandished. 

The  quiet,  orderly   Elector  groaned  amid   this  turmoil   and 

confusion,  arid  wrote  his  brother: — 

Verily,  what  is  happening  here  cannot  be  called  decent. 
People  hustle  one  another  out  of  the  inns  by  force.  There  is 
no   order   here. 

Ultimately  great  crowds  had  to  encamp  outside  of  the  city 
walls,  or  find  shelter  in  the  neighborhood  villages. 

Spite  of  all  this  congestion  and  lack  of  comfort,  there 
developed  an  exceedingly  gay  life  at  Worms.  Landgrave 
Philip  of  Hesse  rode  into  the  city  with  600  horsemen,  Duke 
William  came  from  Munich  with  400,  and  Duke  John  of 
Saxony  asked  for  stable-room  for  300  horses.  The  German 
magnates  were  vying  with  one  another  to  display  their  re- 
sources and  their  knightly  qualities  to  "His   Spanish  Maj- 


159)   See  Appendix,  chap.  2. 


LIFE  AT   WORMS   DURING   THE  DIET.  69 

esty";  and  in  the  case  of  some  of  them  there  may  have  been 
a  sinister  meaning  in  their  feats  of  skill  in  the  arena.  The 
Saxon  Elector  is  very  solicitous  that  his  brother  John  bring 
with  him  skilled  "Stecher,"  knights  who  can  prick  their  an- 
tagonist at  a  tournament  out  of  the  saddle  and  send  him 
sprawling  in  the  dust.  The  young  Emperor  was  an  enthusi- 
astic lover  of  these  chivalrous  sports, ^^^)  as  well  as  of  the 
chase,  and  his  court  was  filled  with  the  dazzling  splendor 
of  medieval  pomp.  Even  the  aged  Elector  was  captivated 
by  the  gaudy  scenes  that  met  him  on  all  sides  as  he  bustled 
his  way  through  the  gay  and  merry  throng  to  the  Emperor's 
chambers  or  to  some  brother  prince.  He  writes  his 
brother : — 

If  I  were  still  young  and  eager  to  display  myself  before  my 
host,  I  should  like  to  live  at  this  court.  We  sleep  into  the 
morning;  His  Majesty  hears  mass  about  ten  or  eleven  o'clock.i^i) 

He  also  reports  that  one  evening  he  had  received  a  sere- 
nade by  two  thousand  singers,  but  had  not  left  his  room. 
When  brother  John  arrived  with  his  cavalcade,  the  Elector 
was  delighted ;  for  the  pick  of  the  Saxon  nobility  was  gath- 
ered about  him,  and  His  Spanish  Majesty  was  so  visibly 
impressed  by  the  valor  and  equipment  of  the  Saxon  knights 
that  he  asked  for  samples  of  their  coats  of  mail  and  accoutre- 
ments. 

Those  were  proud  days  for  the  old  Burgundian  metropo- 
lis on  the  Rhine.  Worms  had  for  a  few  months  become  the 
political  center  of  the  Occident.  There  was  no  monarch 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  held  sway  over  such  vast  and 
rich  possessions  as  Charles  V.  Even  from  America,  Cortez 
had  sent  a  native  Mexican  to  pay  homage  to  him.     From 


160)  In  FNU,  I,  p.  80  f.,  there  is  a  list  of  all  the  tournaments  that 
took  place  during  the  Diet,  with  a  hricf  description  of  the  encounter  and 
the  result.  It  reads  like  the  official  report  of  a  modern  prize-fight,  e.  g.; 
Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick  and  Eberhard  Bischoff  Rod;  two  encounters; 
Eberhard  Bischoff  Rod  fell  both  times. — Duke  William  of  Brunswick  and 
Levyn  von  Feldhayn;  four  encounters;  during  the  first  three  both  kept  ♦heir 
saddles,  at  the  fourth  von  Feldhayn  fell. — Duke  John  Frederick  of  Saxony 
and  Anarch.  Lord  of  Wildenfels;  three  encounters:  at  the  first  von  Wilden- 
fels  fell:  at  the  second  both  kept  their  saddles;  at  the  third  both  fell. — The 
younger  Duke  John  of  Saxony  and  John  Bock;  two  encounters;  at  the  first 
both   missed:   at   the   second   both   fell;   etc. 

aei)  FNU,  I,  pp.  5  ff. 


70  LIFE  AT  WORMS   DURING  THE  DIET. 

all  parts  of  the  Emperor's  domains  the  most  distinguished 
personages  had  flocked  to  his  court ;  the  shrewdest  diplomats, 
the  most  famous  generals  thronged  the  imperial  chambers; 
Dutch,  Spanish,  Italian  petitioners,  with  matters  of  grave 
import,  were  suing  for  favorable  decisions  from  His  Majesty. 
Momentous  issues,  involving  the  fortunes  of  the  leading 
nations  of  Europe,  such  as  the  war  with  France,  the  alliances 
of  Charles,  the  sequestration  of  the  principality  of  Wuert- 
temberg,  the  reorganization  of  the  German  Empire,  were  to 
be  decided  within  the  walls  of  Worms  in  those  days.  And 
the  one  issue  that  dwarfed  all  this  proud  secular  business 
into  insignificance  was — Luther  and  the  Gospel. 

One  of  the  most  vivid  sketches  of  the  social  life  at 
Worms  during  the  Diet  has  been  drawn  by  Dietrich  Butz- 
bach,  who  on  March  7  writes  to  a  friend: — 

My  service  to  you,  dear  neighbor.  I  should  like  to  write 
you  some  news,  but  I  know  not  what  to  say,  except  that  there 
is  gathered  here  a  remarkably  great  concourse  of  princes  and 
lords.  I  have  written  down  the  names  of  all  of  them,  but^it 
is  too  much  labor  to  copy  them ;  I  shall  only  state  their  number : 
80  princes,  130  dukes,  15  ambassadors  of  foreign  kings  and 
lords,i^2)  a  host  of  representatives,  and  an  innumerable  multi- 
tude of  knights,  noblemen  and  their  attendants;  also  great  mer- 
chants and  tradesmen  from  Spain,  the  Netherlands,  Italy,  and 
Germany.  There  is  such  an  exceedingly  great  display  of  costly 
garments  among  the  German,  Spanish,  and  French  lords,  and 
they  have  such  very  fine,  spirited  race  horses,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  describe  all  to  you.  So  far  little  state  business  has 
been  transacted;  all  interest  at  the  Council  of  the  Electors  has 
so  far  centered  on  Martin  [Luther]. 

Philip  of  Hesse,  he  thinks,  claims  the  greatest  amount  of 
interest  after  Luther,  because  of  his  many  lawsuits  that  he  is 
pressing  at  the  Diet,  chiefly  the  suit  against  his  own  mother. 

But  he  is  a  very  spirited  knight  and  keeps  a  grand  and 
splendid  court.  He  is  always  in  the  lists,  shattering  lances. 
He  is  a  dashing  horseman,  and  his  lance  strikes  home.  He 
gambles  with  all  the  princes  for  remarkably  great  stakes,  as 
high  as  a  thousand  gulden,  and  of  all  the  princes  he  has  been 


162)   The  most   distinguished   embassies   were  those   of   Henry   VIII    of 
England  and  of  Francis   I   of  France, 


LIFE  AT   WORMS   DURING   THE  DIET.  71 

praised  and  lauded  most  for  his  trumpeters,  wardrobe,  courtiers, 
horses,  encounters  at  the  tournament,  and  other  doings  .... 

The  Emperor  shows  hiipself  a  gay  man  of  the  world ;  he 
rides  to  the  arena  every  day  for  the  contests.  He  has  the  most 
beautiful  horses;  they  are  called  jennets.  Never  in  my  life  have 
I  seen  horses  prance  in  such  beautiful  capers.  They  are  very 
speedy,  and  the  Emperor  has  astonished  everybody  by  his  fine 
horsemanship.  At  the  carnival  he  was  very  merry;  I  cannot 
write  you  all  he  did.  All  his  actions  seem  quite  becoming,  and 
he  is  very  adroit;  only  iiis  mouth  disfigures  him;  I  am  sincerely 
sorry  for  him. 

Two  foreign  delegations  from  the  island  of  Jerba  and 
from  the  newly  subjugated  Algarbia  caught  Butzbach's 
eye : — 

There  is  a  representative  here  from  the  new  island  that  was 
recently  discovered;  he  is  dressed  in  costly  silks,  but  about  the 
head  he  and  his  servants  go  veiled  like  gypsy  women.  Their 
veils  are  ten  yards  long. 

Butzbach   also   noted   the   low   morals   of   this   crowd   of 

aristocratic  roues: — 

It  is  not  safe  here  to  be  out  of  doors  at  night;  hardly  a  night 
passes  but  three  or  four  persons  are  murdered.  The  Emperor 
keeps  an  attendant  who  has  drowned,  hanged,  and  murdered 
more  than  a  hundred  persons.  Murdering,  thieving,  and  prosti- 
tution are  as  ordinary  events  here  as  at  Rome.  Plenty  of  public 
women  are  found  in  every  street.  No  Lent  is  observed  here; 
tournaments  are  held ;  people  gorge  themselves  with  mutton, 
chicken,  pigeons,  eggs,  milk,  cheese,  and  life  he  is  on  the  order 
of  that  in  Dame  Venus's  Mountain  ....  Let  me  tell  you  also  that 
many  lords  and  foreigners  are  dying  here;  they  all  kill  them- 
selves  drinking   strong   wines. ^^•^) 

These  sketches  are  fully  corroborated  by  the  accounts  of 
others.  T^azarus  Spengler,  the  city  clerk  of  Nuremberg,  was 
shocked  by  the  general  profligacy  and  the  wild  excesses 
which  he  witnessed  during  the  Diet.  Instead  of  attending 
to  affairs  of  state,  he  says,  the  lords  spend  their  time  ban- 
queting and  gambling,  and  the  leading  prelates  of  the  Church 
are  the  worst  debauchees.  One  of  them  lost  34,000  gulden 
in  one  w^ek,  a  certain  nobleman  even  60,000.     At  a  drinking 


1G3)   RA,    I,   815;   IIAL,   p.   99   f. 


72  LIFE  AT  WORMS  DURING  THE  DIET. 

bout  seventy-two  lords  consumed  1,200  measures  {''Mass*') 
of  wine.  Every  troop  of  travelers  that  arrived  at  Worms 
reported  highway  robberies.  Merchants'  caravans  were 
plundered,  the  French  ambassador  was  stripped  of  every- 
thing he  had,  while  a  French  merchant  was  slain  near  the 
gates  of  Worms. 

The  congested  conditions  in  the  city  brought  on  con- 
tagious diseases,  which  decimated  especially  the  ranks  of  the 
Spaniards,  who  were  not  used  to  the  climate.  Elector  Fred- 
erick writes  home  that  "the  plague  has  broken  out  at  Worms 
among  high  and  low,  and  people  are  dying  in  great  numbers." 
The  Elector  was  advised  not  to  take  the  street  which  he 
usually  took  when  going  out  to  call  on  the  Emperor,  because 
two  women  had  died  in  that  street  in  one  night. ^^^) 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  times  great  dignitaries 
w4io  happened  to  visit  a  city  were  entertained  at  the  expense 
of  the  city.  During  the  Diet  of  1521  the  demands  that  were 
made  on  the  city  fiscus  of  Worms  for  entertaining  guests 
of  honor  became  so  excessive  that  the  citizens  refused  to 
honor  them,  and  it  began  to  be  rumored  that  the  Diet  would 
be  removed  to  some  wealthier  city  like  Nuremberg,  Augs- 
burg, or  Strassburg. 

Four  precious  weeks  had  been  trifled  away  in  costly  and 
senseless  frivolities.  The  Council  of  State,  also  called  the 
Imperial  Council,  had  had  fits  of  official  activity,  but  all  its 
work  had  been  tentative.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Diet  would 
never  be  opened;  for  as  the  days  wore  on,  a  new  cause  of 
delay  appeared :  the  princes  were  wrangling  over  an  inter- 
minable question  of  etiquette.  All  the  Electors  had  at 
length  arrived,  but  could  come  to  no  agreement  as  to  their 
seats  in  the  Diet.     The  Elector  writes  to  his  brother : — 

There  is  nothing  here  but  pride.  The  only  reason  why  we 
have  not  been  able  to  open  the  Diet  is  because  we  could  not  agree 
on  the  seat  each  was  to  occupy.  The  Bavarians  refuse  to  let  us 
Saxons  have  the  first  seat,  although  we  are  the  older;    Likewise 


164)   R.  A.,   II,  889,   902;   HAL,  p.  100  f. 


LIFE  AT   WORMS   DURING   THE  DIET.  IZ 

Margrave  Casimir  demands  a  seat  ahead  of  several  princes. i^^) 
It  is,  verily,  a  grievous  thing  that  His  Imperial  Majesty  and  the 
Estates  must  sit  idle  here  on  account  of  this  pride.^^^) 

The  old  chroniclers  discuss  this  remarkable  dilemma 
without  a  twitching  of  their  face;  it  is  to  them  a  solemn 
state-affair.  The  solution  finally  arrived  at  was  also  re- 
markable :  at  the  opening  of  the  Diet  on  St.  Agnes's  Day 
all  the  princes  and  dukes  had  to  stand.  The  genius  who 
hit  upon  this  device  deserves  the  thanks  of  posterity ;  for 
without  it  there  would  have  been  no  Diet.  Rather  than 
yield  a  hair's  breadth  of  prerogative  the  magnates  would 
have  gone  home  and  left  the  Emperor  to  conduct  the  affairs 
of  the  Empire  as  best  he  could,  or  dared. 

Even  this  happy  arrangement  made  two  gentlemen  very 
indignant.  Duke  Alba,  who  had  come  with  the  Emperor 
from  Spain,  was  told  that,  as  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
German  Diet,  no  seat  would  be  assigned  him.  He  left  in  a 
rage  and  was  in  dudgeon  during  the  entire  Diet,  declining 
haughtily  every  invitation  that  was  extended  to  him.  The 
papal  nuncio,  who  was  suffering  daily  indignities  at  the 
hands  of  the  German  princes  and  the  citizens  of  Worms,  was 
permitted  to  take  his  place  in  the  crowd  at  the  opening  cere- 
mony, and  reported  to  Rome  the  grievous  and  damnable  sin 
with  which  the  Diet  had  been  opened,  because  no  notice  had 
been  taken  of  the  representative  of  His  Holiness. 


165)  A  similar  quarrel  had  occurred  three  months  before  at  the 
coronation  at  Aix.  The  Emperor's  train  was  halted  two  hours  at  the  city 
gates  because  the  princes  of  Julich  and  Saxony  were  engaged  in  a  hot 
dispute  as  to  which  of  them'  should  head  the  procession.  Finally  the 
Emperor  sent  the  angry  order  to  Duke  Charles  of  Julich  cither  to  proceed 
"in  the  devil's  name  or  to  fall  back  to  the  rear."  Julich  then  entered 
Aix  ahead  of  the  Saxons:  the  latter,  however,  waited  till  they  were  told 
that  the  Duke  of  Julich  had  jiassed  out  of  the  city  by  the  ()|)nosite  gate,  and 
then  entered  and  claimed  that  they  had  not  come  into  Aix  behind  the 
Duke  of  Julich.     RA,  II,  91;  HAL,  p.  103. 

1G6)   RA,   II,   91,  ff.;  HAL,  p.   103. 


74  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

10.  With  Luther  at  Wittenberg. 

With  a  sense  of  relief  the  student  turns  from  the  tur- 
moil of  passions  at  Worms  to  the  quiet  university  town  on 
the  Elbe  to  observe  Luther  at  his  ordinary  work.  As  on 
previous  occasions  we  find  him  a  very  busy  man.  In  a 
friendly  banter  he  expostulates  with  Spalatin  December  7 : — 

Do  try  and  restrain  yourself  a  little  in  giving  me  so  many 
commands.  A  man  could  not  so  suddenly  start  such  a  confla- 
gration in  this  little  hole,  if  he  gave  the  world  nothing.i^T) 

This  means  that  Luther  is  beginning  to  realize  that  he  is 
becoming  a  teacher  with  a  world  mission,  and  cannot  give 
his  entire  time  to  the  Saxon  court  that  is  plying  him  with 
requests  and  questions  of  a  religious  nature.  He  is  about 
to  gain  a  little  time  by  discontinuing  such  monkish  prac- 
tises as  the  observation  of  canonical  hours;  for  after  the 
publication  of  the  second  bull  against  him^^^^)  he  drops  these, 
and  retains  of  his  monastic  qualities  only  his  cell  in  the  clois- 
ter and  his  garb.^^^)    To  Lang  at  Erfurt  he  writes  March  6: — 

Although  very  busy,  I  write,  Father,  only  to  prevent  your 
complaint  that  I  am  writing  nothing  to  you ;  for  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  other  reason  urging  me  to  write.  I  send  my  trifles.  My 
answer  to  Emser  is  in  preparation. 

Murnar  has  written  three  books  against  me.  Two  Italians 
are  also  said  to  have  written  against  me,  but  as  yet  I  have  not 
seen  the  writings  of  either  of  them.  In  addition  an  attack  upon 
me  by  the  Louvain  professors  is  running  in  the  press.  Thus  am 
I  alone  assailed  by  so  many  hydras,  and  am  forced  to  explode 
the    proverb    that    Hercules    cannot    fight    with    two ;    for    I    am 


167)  XXIa,  318;  EB,  3,  12;  SC,  1,  412.  We  have  given  the  passage 
in  Smith's  rendering.  It  sliould  really  read:  "That  man  will  not  start 
a  great  conflagration  in  his  corner  because  he  is  not  disseminating  anything 
to  the  world."  Luther  is  speaking  of  Francis  Guenther,  pastor  at  Lochau. 
But  the  sentiment  expressed   certainly  applies  to   I^uther  himself. 

168)  See  chap.   12  in  this  book. 

169)  Signs  of  disintegration  were  beginning  to  appear  at  the  Augus- 
tinian  convent  at  Wittenberg.  On  February  3  (according  to  Smith)  Luther 
writes  to  Link  at  Nuremberg,  who  had  charge  of  the  cloisters  in  that 
district:  "Our  Prior  [Ihlt]  comj)lains  about  you,  Father:  on  the  same 
day  our  procurator  and  our  subprior  are  taken  from  us,  so  that  he  alone 
is  bearing  our  burden,  which  is  now  greater  than  before."  XV,  1710;  EB, 
3,  79;  SC,  1,  451.  The  procurator  was  Matthias  Gruneus.  Seidemann 
thinks  that  he  is  the  same  person  who  is  mentioned  as  the  miller  of  the 
Augustinians  at  Grimma.  EB,  2,  52.  Who  the  subprior  was  I  haye  not 
been  able  to  discover.  Melanchthon  speaks  of  him  and  his  leaving  in 
CR,  1,  283,  but  does  not  give  his  name.     He  went  to  Coblenz. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  75 

fighting  with  ten.  Preaching  twice  a  day  is  work  enough  for 
one  man,  lecturing  on  the  Psalter  for  three,  my  postilla  for  as 
many,  and  besides  these  there  are  so  many  enemies,  not  to  men- 
tion my  occasional  works  and  letters  to  friends,  as  well  as  my* 
conversations  and  fraternal  ministrations.  For  I  am  absolved 
from  the  rules  of  the  Order  and  of  the  Pope  and  excommuni- 
cated by  the  authority  of  the  bull.  I  am  glad  of  it  and  accept 
it;  only  I  do  not  leave  my  garb  nor  my  cell.  ^'^^) 

The  exhaustive  commentary  on  the  articles  condemned 
in  the  bull,  which  Luther  had  promised  the  Elector,  engaged 
liini  chiefly  during  the  latter  part  of  December  and  during 
January  and  February.  He  kept  Spalatin  closely  iriformed 
regarding  the  progress  of  this  work,  and  forwarded  the 
printed  sheets  to  Worms  as  fast  as  they  came  off  the  press. 
The  Latm  edition  appeared  about  the  middle  of  January 
under  the  caption,  ''Vindication  of  All  the  Articles  of  M. 
Lutiier  that  have  been  Condemned  by  the  Most  Recent  Bull 
of  Leo  X."i''i)  The  German  edition  was  elaborated  sepa- 
rately :  it  is  not  a  mere  translation,  but  sometimes  expands 
and  sometimes  contracts  the  material  of  the  Latin  edition. 
It  was  issued  March  1,  1521.1^2) 

The  treatise  takes  tip  forty-one  distinct  articles  for  dis- 
cussion. Thoroughly  and  clearly  Luther,  in  this  treatise, 
explains  once  more  his  views  and  states  his  reasons,  for  the 
benefit  of  both  scholars  and  laymen.  Purposely  he  presents 
some  articles  in  a  more  pointed  form,  or  reminds  the  reader 
that  he  has  on  previous  occasions  taken  a  more  advanced 
position,  as  the  author  of  the  bull  must  know.  For  instance, 
he  now  retracts  the  article  concerning  indulgences  which 
the  bull  has  condemned,  z'i::.,  that  indulgences  belong  to  the 
class  of  things  that  might  be  tolerated  as  a  pious  fraud;  he 
says  that  he  wants  to  confess  his  error  on  this  point:  they 
belong  to  the  class  of  things  that  destroy  men's  souls  and 
are  a  diabolical,  antichristian  fraud,  theft,  and  robbery.  In 
a  similar  manner  he  retracts  his  statement  that  some  of  the 


170)  XV,  2508;   EB,   3,   100;   SC,   1,   481. 

171)  Asscrtio   Omnium  Articiilorum   M.   Luthcri,   per  Bullam   Leonis  X 
K^oxissitjwvi  Damnatorum. 

172)  Grtiud    niid    UrsacJi    allcr   Artikel,    so    (lurch    die    roemische    Bullc 
unrechtUch  verdammt  zcorden.      XV,   1470-1505. 


Id  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

articles  of  Huss  condemned  at  Constance  are  entirely  Chris- 
tian in  character :  he  wants  to  declare  now  that  all  those 
articles  are  of  that  character,  and  that  by  condemning  Huss 
the  Pope  and  the  Papists  have  condemned  the  holy  Gospel, 
and  in  the  place  of  it  have  set  up  the  doctrine  of  the  infernal 
dragon.  The  most  advanced  position  from  a  dogmatic  point 
of  view  Luther  now  takes  in  his  opposition  to  every  kind 
of  freedom  that  men  ascribe  to  the  human  will  over  and 
against  divine  monergism :  not  a  single  one  of  our  thoughts, 
he  says,  is  within  our  own  power.  Nor  does  he  restrict  the 
meaning  of  this  statement  to  a  mere  weakening  or  paralyzing 
of  man's  will  by  sin.  In  a  quite  general  way  he  asserts : 
''If  you  view  affairs  in  this  lower  sphere,  they  seem  arbi- 
trary and  accidental,  but  if  you  look  upward  (and  view 
them  in  relation  to  God),  everything  is  of  necessity." 

Luther  bases  all  the  expository  statements  he  makes  in 
this  treatise  on  his  right  freely  and  independently  to  explore 
and  interpret  Holy  Scripture,  to  teach  in  accordance  with 
it  alone,  and  to  pass  judgment  on  all  doctrines  of  men. 
Especially  in  the  Latin  edition  Luther  meets  the  objection 
that  it  is  arrogant  in  a  single  individual  to  use  Scripture 
thus,  in  defiance  of  all  ecclesiastical  authorities.  He  asks 
why  a  person  cannot  be  permitted  nowadays  to  study  the 
Scriptures  as  they  were  studied  in  the  primitive  Christian 
Church,  when  there  was  not  yet  an  Augustine,  Thomas,  or 
other  authority.  Moreover,  he  points  out  that  these  authori- 
ties often  conflict  with  each  other  in  their  interpretation  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  often  doi  violence  to  the  text.  How, 
then,  is  Scripture  to  be  interpreted?  Nobody,  he  asserts,  may 
interpret  Scripture  in  any  other  way  than  in  accordance 
with  its  spirit.  The  spirit,  however,  in  which  the  Scrip- 
tures were  written  is  nowhere  more  vitally  present  than  in 
the  Scriptures  themselves.  One  must  enter  into  the  depths 
of  the  Word  of  God,  meditating  on  it  day  and  night.^'^-'^) 
The  revelation  which  comes  by  means  of  the  Word  of  God 

173)   Ps.    1,   2. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  11 

illumines  and  gives  understanding  to  the  simple.^'^*)  The 
spirit  in  which  the  Word  of  God  has  been  written,  and 
which  operates  through  it,  automatically  guides  a  person  to 
a  proper  understanding  of  Scripture.  Hence  Luther  claims 
the  right  to  understafld  the  Scriptures  by  himself,  and  to 
exercise  himself  in  them.  Accordingly,  he  does  not  claim 
to  be  anybody's  master  and  a  lord  superior  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  everybody  is  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  for  him- 
self. In  the  .German  edition  he  meets  the  charge  that  he  is 
presumptuous  because  he  alone  undertakes  to  teach  every- 
body. He  says  that  his  enemies  have  dragged  him  into  the 
arena  of  public  discussion  to  gain  praise  and  honor  by 
defeating  him,  and  he  was  thus  compelled  to  contend  for 
the  correctness  of  his  position.  Supposing  it  were  true,  he 
says,  that  I  alone  thrust  myself  forward,  that  would  not 
exonerate  my  adversaries.  Who  can  tell  whether  God  has 
not  raised  me  up  for  this  purpose?  Let  them  be  careful  to 
guard  their  reverence  for  God,  lest  in  despising  me  they 
despise  God.  Do  we  not  read  that  in  the  Old  Testament 
God,  as  a  rule,  did  not  raise  up  more  than  one  prophet  at 
a  time,  and  that  He  never  chose  him  from  among  the  chief 
priests  or  from  other  elevated  stations,  but  usually  selected 
lowly  and  despised  persons  for  that  office?  So  it  happened 
that  the  blessed  saints  always  had  to  preach  against  the 
leaders,  princes,  priests,  and  doctors,  and  had  to  place  their 
neck  in  jeopardy.  I  do  not  say,  he  exclaims,  that  I  am  a 
prophet ;  but  I  do  say  that  they  have  much  more  reason  to 
fear  that  I  might  be  one,  the  more  they  despise  me  and  hold 
themselves  in  esteem.  If  T  am  not  a  prophet,  I  am  neverthe- 
less certain  in  my  own  mind  that  the  Word  of  God  is  on  my 
side  and  not  on  theirs.  And  though  many  great  Johnnies 
may  envy  and  persecute  mc,  that  docs  not  scare  me ;  yea,  it 
comforts  and  strengthens  me,  since  it  is  manifest  by  all  the 
Scriptures  that  persecutors  and  detractors,  as  a  rule,  are  in 
the  wrong,  and  the  persecuted  in  the  right,  and  the  greater 
crowd   has   always    followed   after   a   lie   while   the    smaller 

174)    Ps.  119,  130. 


78  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

stood  by  the  truth.  Accordingly  I  shall  gladly  vindicate  and 
defend  the  articles  that  have  been  condemned  by  the  bull,  and 
I  trust  that  by  the  grace  of  God  I  shall  be  able  to  maintain 
them  against  injustice.  When  it  comes  to  using  violence,  I 
have  nothing  more  to  offer  than  my  poor  body,  which  I 
commend  to  God  and  to  the  truth  which  the  Pope  has  con- 
demned.^"^^^ 

The  reason  for  some  of  the  strong  statements  in  these 
treatises  Luther  explained  in  advance  to  his  friend  Spalatin, 
when  he  wrote  him  January  16: — 

Several  quaternions  of  my  Latin  Asscrtio  were  sent  you 
some  time  ago ;  now  the  rest  follows.  Do  not  pronounce  it 
harsh ;  the  German  edition  will  be  plainer  and  simpler.  I  had  to 
sprinkle  some  salt  on  it  for  Latin  stomachs.i'''6) 

A  melancholy  circumstance  attaches  to  the  publication 
of  the  Latin  edition.  Luther  had  decided  to  dedicate  it  to  his 
trusted  friend  and  counselor  at  Augsburg,  Altenburg,  and 
elsewhere,  Fabian  von  Feilitzsch,  when  this  worthy  gentle- 
man died.  However,  Luther  did  not  alter  his  purpose,^"^*^) 
and  let  the  edition  go  out  as  originally  planned,  with  the 
following  letter: — 

You  are  the  foremost  person,  my  Fabian  Fortunate,  or  rather 
Most  Fortunate, 1'''^)  to  prove  and  make  plain  what  I  have  so 
often  declared  on  previous  occasions,  vh.,  that  there  is  also  in 
laymen  a  spirit  of  judgment  and  zeal  (to  use  Isaiah's  lan- 
guage).^'^•^)  For  when  my  friend  Philip  and  I  were  with  you 
at  Eylenburg,i^<^)  what  a  splendid  example  did  you  give  of  your 
ability  to  judge,   and   discourse   on,  the   Christian   religion   in   a 


175)  KL,    I,   376  f. 

176)  XV,   2505;   EB,   3,   73;    SC,   1,   442. 

177)  De  Wette,  misinterpreting  a  remark  of  Luther  in  a  letter  to 
Spalatin  on  December  7,  surmised  that  Spalatin  had  attempted  to  dissuade 
Luther  from  dedicating  this  treatise  to  Feilitzsch.  Luther  gives  no  hint  of 
any  suggestion  to  that  effect,  but  says  that  the  part  containing  the  dedi- 
cation was  already  off  the  press  and  could  not  be  changed,  moreover,  it  did 
not  require  being  changed,  because  Feilitzsch  was  now  living  in  a  more 
exalted  sense  than  ever. — Luther  hesitated  to  dedicate  the  German  edition 
of  the  treatise  to  Francis  von  Sickingen  because  of  the  envy  which  such  an 
action  might  excite  among  the  Franconian  nobility.  XXIa,  318;  EB,  3,  12; 
SC,   1,    412. 

178)  Luther  attempts  a  derivation  of  his  friend's  name  Feilitzsch  from 
the  Latin  Felix,  "happy." 

179)  Is.  4,  4. 

180)  In  November.  1520;  they  had  gone  thither  to  advise  the  pro- 
vost of  the  Bishop  of  Naumburg  regarding  the  posting  of  the  bull  of 
excommunication. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  79 

clear,  conclusive,  godly,  and  happy  manner !  Nor  do  I  doubt 
that  you  have  at  our  court  ever  so  many  striving  in  the  same 
direction  with  you,  so  that  I  simply  rejoice  to  see  the  admirable 
plan  and  judgment  of  God,  by  which  He  shows  Himself  fro  ward 
with  the  froward  and  elect  with  the  elect. ^'^i)  For  while  we  who 
are  of  the  Lord's  chosen  band  [clergy],  and  ought  to  be  the 
laymen's  teachers,  have  turned  our  backs  upon  Christ  and  the 
Gospel,  He,  too,  has,  with  the  same  measure  [of  civility], 
turned  His  back  upon  us,  so  that,  as  we  provoke  Him  with  that 
\\hich  is  not  God,  and  with  a  Word  that  is  not  the  gospel,  He, 
in  turn,  provokes  us  with  such  as  are  not  chosen  ones  [clergy- 
men], and  with  such  as  are  not  teachers,  namely,  by  giving  to 
laymen  the  pure  knowledge  of  Himself,  while  leaving  to  us  our 
foolish  and  godless  notions.  Righteous  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  and 
righteous  is  Thy  judgment.^^-) 

Now,  although  I  have  heretofore  written  and  spoken  much, 
not  knowing  that  there  was  so  much  blindness  in  the  shepherds 
of  Israel. i^-"*)  still  I  learned  nothing  by  it  except  that  they  reviled 
me  for  that  for  which  they  should  have  loved  me,  and  rendered 
me  evil  for  good,i84)  until  they  went  so  far  in  their  rage  against 
their  own  salvation  that  they  publicly  condemned  and  burned 
my  books  at  Cologne  and  Louvain.  For  they  have  a  zeal  for 
God  superior  to  others,  but  not  according  to  knowledge.^^-*)  I 
am  so  far  from  being  angry  at  them  in  this  matter  that  I  greatly 
pity  their  blindness  and  perdition,  or  rather  their  childish  folly. 
For  what  is  easier  than  to  Inirn  books  which  you  cannot  refute? 
The  wicked  king  Jehoiakin  burned  the  books  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  1^6)  13^^  j^g  (jj^j  ^ot  become  righteous  through  that 
act.  But,  as  I  remarked,  this,  too,  belongs  to  our  perversity  and 
to  the  reprobate  mind  to  which  God  has  given  us  over,''^")  that 
we  clergymen  condemn  the  truth  which  laymen  embrace,  and 
thus  those  become  priests  who  are  not  priests,  and  those  laymen 
who  are  not  laymen. 

Therefore  it  has  seemed  good  to  me  henceforth  to  write  to 
you  laymen  as  to  a  new  race  of  priests,  and  with  God's  help  to 
make  a  happy  beginning  under  the  auspices  of  your  happy  name, 
intending  to  assert  and  fortify  all  the  points  which  those  incen- 
diaries have  condemned  in  the  bull  that  is  quite  like  themselves. 


181)  Ps.  18,  2fi.  Luther  quotes  the  text  from  the  Latin  Vulgate  and 
connects  with  the-  term  "elect"  the  original  meaning  of  the  Creek  kleros, 
something  that   falls  to  one's  lot,  something  chosen,   or   selected. 

182)  Rev.  16,  7;   19,  2. 
18.1)    Ts.   oG,   ]0. 

184)  Ps.    109.    4    f. 

185)  Rom.   10,  2. 
ISfi)    Ter.  36,  23,  28, 
187)   Rom.    1,   24. 


80  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

Accordingly,  let  me,  or  rather  the  Christian  doctrine,  be  com- 
mended to  you  and  to  your  entire  nobility  by  the  treatise  which 
has  been  issued  in  your  hOnor.i^s) 

About  the  middle  of  February  Luther  published  his  In- 
struction for  Those  Going  to  Confession.  This  is  a  brief 
tract,  in  which  he  gives  spiritual  counsel  to  laymen  whom 
their  priests  refuse  to  absolve  unless  they  tell  them  whether 
they  have  writings  of  Luther  in  their  possession  and  are 
willing  to  surrender  them.^^^)  The  laymen  whom  Luther  has 
in  mind  are  persons  who  are  convinced  that  Luther's  doc- 
trine agrees  with  Scripture,  but  are  still  weak  in  faith. 
Under  clerical  pressure  they  might  act  contrary  to  their 
better  knowledge  and  conviction.  Luther  advises  them  to 
refuse  answering  questions  regarding  his  books,  and  to  tell 
the  confessor  that  they  assume  responsibility  for  anything 
that  they  do  not  reveal.  If  the  confessor  reminds  them  of 
the  bull  issued  against  Luther,  they  are  to  tell  him  that  they 
know  of  God-fearing  people  who  pay  no  attention  to  the 
bull,  that  the  Pope  has  been  known  to  change  his  decisions, 
and  that  they  will  not  build  their  faith  on  the  shifting  sand 
of  His  deliverances.  If  the  confessor  refuses  to  absolve 
them,  they  are  cheerfully  to  rely  on  the  absolution  which 
God  grants  them  in  answer  to  their  prayers  for  forgiveness. 
But  if  any  one  is  given  the  spiritual  boldness  to  confess  the 
truth  openly,  let  him  plainly  declare  to  the  confessor  that 
he  has  writings  of  Luther,  but  will  not  give  them  up,  because 
we  must  obey  God  rather  than  men.^^^)  If  the  priest  refuses 
not  only  absolution,  but  also  communion,  the  laymen  first 
should  humbly  repeat  their  request,  and  when  still  refused, 
they  are  to  abandon  the  Sacrament,  altar,  priest,  and  Church 
of  Rome.  For  the  divine  Word  that  has  been  condemned  in 
the  bull  is  of  greater  moment  than  all  other  things.  The 
soul  cannot  do  without  the  divine  Word,  but  it  can  do  with- 
out the  Sacrament,  because  Christ,  the  true  Bishop,  feeds  the 
soul   spiritually  with  the   Sacrament.     Finally,  Luther  begs 


188)  XXTa,  312  ft'.;  Eli,  3,  1  ff.;   SC,  1,  403  f. 

189)  XIX,  808-15. 

190)  Acts  5,  29. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  81 

all  prelates  and  confessors  not  to  use  violence  against  the 
lay  people,  and  not  to  torture  their  conscience,  "lest  the  lay- 
men be  moved  to  ask  their  confessors  a  counter-question, 
I'i::.,  whence  they  had  the  authority  to  institute  auricular 
confession  and  inquire  into  the  private  affairs  of  men.  That 
would  raise  a  tumult  which  the  priests  might  not  find  it  easy 
to  quell."  With  a  fine  spiritual  discrimination  Luther  adds 
that  "confession  is  a  most  salutary  ordinance,"  even  though 
it  is  but  of  human  origin.  "It  is  necessary,  therefore,  not  to 
allow  this  salutary  ordinance  to  be  destroyed  by  the  malice, 
violence,  and  force  of  rulers.  Blustering  will  no  longer 
work,"  he  says  to  the  Romanists;  "beware  and  be  wise!" 

At  Basle  an  edition  of  his  Annotations  to  the  Psahns^^^) 
was  being  printed,  with  all  the  mistakes  contained  in  former 
editions.  This  prompts  Luther  at  the  end  of  February  to 
write  to  Conrad  Pellican  ^^^)  at  Basle: — 

I  do  not  understand  how.  it  is  that  you  so  praise  my  writings; 
I  fear  you  are  partial.  To  me,  at  least,  my  Psaltery  is  an  object 
of  disgust,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  sense,  which  I  believe 
to  be  correct,  as  on  account  of  its  verbosity,  lack  of  order,  and 
chaotic  arrangement.  For  it  is  a  book  which  I  am  forced  to 
conceive,  form,  nourish,  and  bring  forth  all  at  once,  on  account 
of  lack  of  time  and  lack  of  leisure.  I  have  long  thought  of 
recalling  it.  For  with  the  living  voice  the  hearers  get  much 
light  and  grace,  such  as  this  chaos  of  letters  neither  has  nor 
can  receive.  If  Ps.  XI  is  not  yet  printed,  please  strike  out  twelve 
verses  at  the  end  of  page  B,  with  the  three  following  verses 
on  page  C.^^^^)  For  you  see  how  sadly  I  erred  about  the  word 
sahib.  For  I  was  then  absent-minded  and  thinking?  of  other 
things,  as  I  often  am;  I  am,  indeed,  very  busy,  preaching  twice 
a  day,  treating  the  Psalter,  writing  Postilla  (as  they  are  called), 
answering  my  enemies,  attacking  the  bull  in  Latin  and  German, 


ion  Otcrationes  in  Psalmos  (Ps.  1-21;  Ps.  22  was  added  later).  IV, 
220-1225. 

192)  Conrad  PclHcan  (ORUM5.5r))  of  RufTach,  Alsace,  became  a 
Franciscan  in  1403,  Gentral  Vicar  of  Alsace  in  140!).  studied  Hebrew  witb 
Reuchlin  and  Matthew  Adrian;  began  to  lecture  on  Hebrew  at  Basle  in 
1502;  went  to  Rome  in  1517,  returning  to  Basle  1519,  at  which  time  he 
became  a  follower  of  I.uthcr,  and  after  1523  a  warm  friend  of  Oecolam- 
padius.  In  15r?.3  ht-  began  to  Ucture  on  the  Old  Testament;  In  1527  he 
was    called   to   Zurich    by    Zwingli,    and    remained    there    till    his    death. 

19.3)  In  the  first  "print  there  is  a  marginal  gloss,  which  says  that 
I.uther  is  speaking  of  the  pagination  in  the  Wittenberg  edition.  Luther 
follows  the  numeration  of  the  Psalms  in  the  Vulgate,  which  is  one  number 
in    arrears    of   the   numeration   in   the    English    Bible. 

DAU,    TRIBUN.M.   OF    CAESAR.  6 


82  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

and  defending  myself,  not  to  mention  answering  my  friends' 
letters  and  conversing  with  those  of  my  household,  and  with 
accidental  visitors.  One  other  thing  that  I  forgot, — please  strike 
out  what  I  dreamed  about  the  word  maskil,  Ps.  XIII,  v.  26.  I  will 
take  care  to  explain  the  words  of  understanding  as  diligently  as 
I  did  the  words  of  strength,  Ps.  XX.i^^)  There  are  many  other 
things,  but  of  less  moment,  for  the  book  is  full  of  typographical 
errors. 

You  are  doing  well  in  praying  for  me.  I  am  overwhelmed 
with  many  evils,  am  kept  from  the  sacred  things,  and  my  life 
is  a  cross.  I  am  now  on  the  twenty-first  Psalm,  "Eli,  Eli."  I 
might  hope  to  finish  the  Psalter  if  Christ  would  give  me  quiet, 
so  that  I  were  able  to  work  on  it  with  all  my  might.  At  present 
I  cannot  even  give  the  fourth  part  of  my  time  to  the  Psalter ; 
I  simply  have  to  steal  the  time  I  am  spending  on  it.  You  rightly 
warn  me  to  practise  moderation ;  I  myself  know  that,  but  I  am 
not  master  of  myself,  being  carried  along  by  I  know  not  what 
spirit,  though  I  know  that  I  consciously  wish  no  one  evil.  They 
press  furiously  upon  me,  so  that  I  am  not  sufficiently  on  my 
guard  against  Satan.  Therefore  pray  the  Lord  for  me  that  I 
may  learn,  speak,  and  write  what  is  worthy  of  Him  and  of  me, 
not  what  suits  them.i^^) 

In  many  of  Luther's  letters  during  this  period,  as  in  the 
foregoing,  there  is  a  reference  to  a  Postil  which  he  is 
writing.  The  suggestion  for  this  work  had  come  from  the 
Elector,  who  wished  to  have  homilies  on  the  pericopal 
lessons  read  at  the  churches,  not  only  for  his  private  edifica- 
tion, but  also  as  a  help  to  incapable  preachers.  During 
February  Luther  finished  a  section  of  this  work  covering  the 
Advent  cycle  of  Scripture-lessons,  and  dedicated  it  to  the 
Elector  with  a  letter  of  March  3 : — 

Most  illustrous  and  clement  Prince,  I  know  not  to  what 
I  ought  to  attribute  it  that  I  have  hitherto  been  unable  to  meet 
Your  Highness's  wishes,  and,  as  one  thing  gave  rise  to  another, 
that  I  have  been  forced  to  defer  doing  so  from  day  to  day.  It 
was  your  excellent  advice  that  I  should  refrain  from  contentious, 
sharp,  and  polemic  writings,  in  which  I  have  now  lost  three  years, 
and  devote  myself  to  sacred  and  peaceable  studies.  You  advised 
that,  in  addition  to  my  commentary  on  the  Psalter,  I  should  pre- 
pare  homilies    on    the    Gospels    and    Epistles    (commonly   called 


194)  IV,    121S. 

195)  IV,  1224  f.;  EB,  3,  92  ff.;   SC,  1,  477  f. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  83 

Postilla)  for  the  great  mass  of  pastors  and  people;  for  you 
thoii.uht  that  if  I  were  engaged  in  siicli  a  mountain  of  work,  I 
woukl  have  peace  even  against  the  will  of  my  enemies.  Thus 
your  disposition,  like  your  name,  is  peaceful,  so  that  you  often 
show  me  plainly  how  much  these  contentions  about  trifles^'-^^) 
annoy  you;  for  I  beg  leave  myself  to  despise  those  magnificent 
battles  for  ecclesiastical  lucre,  and  with  the  prophet^-'")  to  make 
Bethaven  of  Bethel. 

I  myself  cannot  easily  express  my  aversion  to  being  plunged 
into  these  whirlpools  and  taken  from  my  studies,  so  that  I  could 
not  categorically  command  my  flesh  and  blood  to  treat  the 
obstinate  impudence  of  the  wicked  with  moderation,  and  less 
sharply,  out  of  regard  for  my  religious  order.  As  I  acknowledge 
my  fault  in  this  matter,  I  hope  that  pardon  will  be  denied  me  by 
no  one  who  once  considers  what  lions  of  Moab,  what  Rabshakehs 
of  the  Assyrians,  what  extremely  vicious  Shimeis  I  alone  have 
long  been  forced  to  contend  with,  to  my  own  loss  and  that  of 
many  whom  I  might  have  profited  by  expounding  the  Word  of 
God.  Thus  my  mind  has  been  tossed  by  these  whirlwinds,  and 
yet  has  never  given  up  hope  of  getting  peace  some  time,  so  that 
I  might  accommodate  myself  to  Your  Highness,  through  whom, 
we  must  not  doubt,  the  mercy  of  God  has  brought  not  a  little 
profit  to  Christ's  Gospel. 

But  as  I  see  that  my  hope  was  merely  a  human  imagination, 
and  that  I  am  daily  more  deeply  involved  in  this  great  sea,  in 
which  innumerable  reptiles  and  great  and  small  animals  join 
forces  against  me,  I  also  see  that  my  hope  was  a  temptation  of 
Satan,  who  only  sought  to  make  me  distracted  with  a  sense  of  my 
nothingness,  and  to  divert  me  at  length  from  my  main  purpose. 
He  wanted  me  to  go  to  Babylon  before  I  had  fortified  and  pro- 
visioned my  Jerusalem.  So  clever  is  his  wickedness !  Consider- 
ing this,  I  remembered  that  holy  man  Nehemiah,  and  leaving 
idle  musings  to  Ezra,  the  learned  scribe,  I  began  to  despair  of 
peace,  and  arming  myself  equally  for  peace  or  war,  I  held  the 
sword  with  one  hand  ready  to  repulse  my  Arabians,  and  with  the 
other  prepared  to  build  the  wall,  ^^s)  lest,  were  I  to  give  my 
whole  attention  to  either  pursuit,  I  should  accomplish  neither. 
Jerome,  too,  says  that  one  who  does  not  resist  enemies  of  the 
Church  does  her  as  much  harm  as  he  does  good,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  building  her  up. 


li)G)  Je  lana  caprina,  "about  goat's  hair."  Horace,  Epistles  T,  XVIII,  15. 

197)  Amos    5,    5.     Bethaven — "house    of    vanity";     Bethel — "house    of 
God." 

198)  Neh.   4,  17. 


84  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

The  apostlei99)  also  commands  a  bishop  not  only  to  be 
powerful  in  exhorting"  with  sound  doctrine,  but  also  to  refute 
those  who  attack  it.  Not  that  I  think  I  am  a  bishop, — for  I  lack 
both  the  wealth  and  the  insignia  of  office  which  today  are  the 
principal  marks  of  a  bishop, — but  because  one  who  discharges 
the  ministry  of  the  Word  discharges  the  office  of  a  bishop. 
Such  a  person  needs  to  be  an  ambidextrous  Ehud,  and,  with  his 
warlike  left  hand  ready  for  the  occasion  of  the  onset,  thrust 
a  dagger  into  fat  Eglon  and  slay  him.^oo)  Sq  I,  in  the  midst 
of  the  Papists'  swords,  bulls,  trumpets,  and  horns  trying  in  vain 
to  terrify  me,  by  God's  grace  bravely  despise  them  all,  and  am 
girt  up  for  a  work  of  peace.  Thus  I  offer  Your  Highness  the 
homilies  you  asked  for.  What  can  I  not  do  through  Him  who 
strengthens  me?-^i)  If  I  wanted  to  take  the  measure  of  my  own 
strength,  I  should  not  dare  to  give  myself  to  this  one  book  of 
the  Psalter,  so  much  genius,  learning,  diligence,  and  grace  that 
book  requires,  not  to  mention  my  two  sermons  daily.  I  say 
nothing  of  my  occupations  outside  of  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

I  fear  that  the  work  will  fall  far  short  of  your  expectation. 
For  as  there  is  nothing  more  holy  in  the  heart  of  every  one 
than  knowledge  of  the  Gospel, — -and  rightly,  since  its  majesty  is 
inestimable  and  adorable, — many  will  expect  homilies  worthy  of 
the  Gospel,  whereas  they  will  find  only  a  mouse  born  of  the 
mountain's  labor,-^^-)  and  that,  having  conceived  fire,  I  bring 
forth  straw.  I  say  nothing  about  my  eloquence  and  elegant 
Latinity.  For  as  I  am  unskilled  in  these  things,  I  do  not  write 
for  those  who  are  skilled  in  them,  but  for  the  people,  and 
for  men  whose  breath  is  in  their  nostrils,  and  who  are  considered 
noble  by  God,  as  Isaiah  says.-^-")  Though  they  speak  artlessly, 
their  judgment  is  what  I  fear,  especially  yours,  most  illustrious 
Prince,  who  not  only  favor,  and  are  bent  upon,  sacred  studies 
with  incomparable  zeal,  but  who  are  so  well  informed  that  you 
can  give  any  theologian,  no  matter  how^  great,  plenty  of  work  if 
you  only  begin  to  ask  him  questions.  This  is  why  the  Romanists 
are  unable  to  impose  on  you  with  the  glare  and  hocus-pocus 
of  their  bulls,  and  cannot  snare  you  in  their  impious  super- 
stitions, although  with  this  gross  nonsense  they  have  to-day  sent 
all  the  bishops  insane. 

I  shall  be  satisfied  if  at  any  rate  I  have  opened  up  the  pure 
and    simple   sense   of   the   Gospel,   and   thus    meet   the   dull    and 


199)  Titus   1,   9. 

200)  Judg.    3,    16   ff. 

201)  Phil.   4,   13. 

202)  Horace,  Epist.  ad  Pisoncm  139. 

203)  Is.    2,   22. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  85 

foolish  commentaries  of  some.  Thus  the  people  can  at  least 
hear,  instead  of  fables  and  dreams,  the  pure  Word  of  God 
purged  from  human  dross.  1  promise  nothing  but  this  pure 
and  simple  meaning  of  the  Gospel  truth,  adapted  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  lowly  and  meek.  Whether  I  even  accomplish 
this  much,  others  must  judge;  but  at  least  no  one  shall  learn 
from  me  to  discuss  matters  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
subject. 

Deign,  therefore,  most  illustrious  Prince,  in  clemency  to 
accept  this  my  gift,  and  as  you  are  now  doing  for  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  remain  in  Christ's  favor  Frederick,  the  pious,  the 
great,  the  Saxon,  the  duke,  and  the  elector.  Farewell  in 
Christ.204) 

Besides  preparing  these  writings  of  a  constructive  nature, 
Luther  was  again  forced  to  engage  in  polemics.  Emser^^^) 
had  published  at  Leipzig,  January  20,  a  brochure  bearing  the 
title,  Against  the  Unchristian  Appeal  of  Martin  Luther, 
Augtistinian,  to  the  German  Nobility;  a  Refutation/'  etc. 
Luther's  host  during  the  Leipzig  Debate,  Martin  Herbipo- 
lensis  (Landberg)  was  the  publisher.  On  the  title-page  the 
motto  was  printed :  "Look  out,  the  goat  will  butt  you" — an 
illustration  of  Emser's  coat  of  arms.  Luther  answered  this 
invective  in  his  Reply  to  the  Superchristian,  Sitpcrspiritiial, 
and  Supcrcunning  Book  of  Goat  Bmser?^^) 

The  style  both  of  Emser's  attack  and  of  Luther's  re- 
joinder is  coarse.  Luther  indulges  freely  in  irony  and 
sarcasm  against  an  opponent  whom  he  had  learned  to  despise 
after  Emser's  treacherous  action  at  Leipzig.-*'")  Luther's 
reply,  however,  has  dogmatical  value,  because  in  this  treatise 
Luther  discusses,  (1)  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers 
and  its  Scriptural  basis,  (2)  the  correct  method  of  finding 
and  explaining  the  true  meaning  of  Scripture.  Luther  had 
based  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers 
especially  on  1  Pet.  2,  9.  Emser  tried  to  defeat  Luther's 
argument  by  claiming  for  Scripture  a  double  meaning,  one 
spiritual,  the  other  literal.     This  idea  Luther  rejected  as  an 


204)  XXIa,   3.30  ff. ;   EB,   3,   94   ff. ;    1,   47S   fif. 

20.",)  DC.R,  229  fif. 

206)  XVIII,    1270-13.-.?,. 

207)  DLD,  p.   48  f. 


86  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

arbitrary,  human  invention,  and  showed  that  Paul's  state- 
ment in  2  Cor.  3,  6  about  the  letter  that  kills  and  the  Spirit 
that  makes  alive  has  nothing  to  do  with  Emser's  distinction. 
Luther  maintains  that  the  Scriptures  must  be  understood 
simply  as  they  read;  for  ''the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  plainest 
writer  and  speaker  in  heaven  and  on  earth;  therefore  His 
words  can  have  but  one  meaning,  and  that,  the  simplest." 
If  any  other  than  the  plain  meaning  is  to  be  given  to  a 
certain  passage  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  contains  types 
and  figures.  Scripture  itself  must  indicate  the  other  meaning. 
In  a  controversy  only  the  simple  words  of  Scripture,  under- 
stood in  their  plain  meaning,  must  be  used  for  argument. 
The  position  which  Luther  occupies  in  this  treatise  is 
epochal.  It  is  a  clear  renunciation  of  the  old  allegorical, 
rather  the  arbitrary,  method  of  interpretation,  which  gave 
free  rein  to  the  whim  and  fancy  of  the  interpreter. 

Since  the  end  of  1520  another  monk  joined  the  ranks  of 
Luther's  literary  opponents.  Thomas  Murner^os)  was  a 
rough,  coarse,  vulgar  Franciscan,  who  had  become  popular 
through  his  satirical  sermons  on  the  moral  corruptions 
and  follies  of  the  age,  especially  those  of  the  clergy.  At  one 
time  he  had  been  regarded  as  almost  a  Humanist.  He  wrote 
a  reply  to  Luther's  Appeal  to  the  German  Nobility,  and 
addressed  a  letter  of  admonition  to  Luther.-^^)  Luther 
regarded  Murner's  attempt  as  meretricious  and  not  worthy 
of  a  special  rejoinder  because  of  its  verbal  bulk  and  small 
intellectual  content.  He  appended  a  chapter  to  his  treatise 
against  Emser :     "To  Murnarr,^^'^)  in  which  he  explains  his 


208)  Murnar  (1475-1537)  entered  the  Franciscan  order  at  Strassburg 
1491  and  became  priest  1494.  He  studied  at  Paris  1497,  and  after  wander- 
ing about,  returned  to  Strassburg  1502.  In  that  year  he  had  a  literary  feud 
with  Wimpfeling.  In  150G  he  became  a  D.  D.,  and  in  1515  was  crowned 
Poet  Laureate.  Of  his  many  satires  his  Conjuring  of  Fools,  1512,  is  the 
best.  He  was  the  most  popular  writer  against  Luther,  particularly  in  his 
Big  Lutheran  Fool,  1522.  In  1525  he  was  banished  by  the  Strassburg 
Protestants   to    Oberehenheim.      SC,    1,    407. 

209)  EB,   3,  27   ff. 

210)  XVIIT,  1344-53.  Murnar's  name  was  originally  spelled  "Murner." 
When  the  Franciscan  attacked  Wimpfeling's  great  historical  work, 
Germania,  Wimpfeling  began  to  spell  the  name  "Murr-Narr"  or  "Murnar'  — 
a  meowing  tomcat,  and  this  spelling  was  kept  up  throughout  the  era  of  the 
Reformation. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  87 

conception  of  the  Christian  Church  as  the  sum  total  of 
believers  in  Christ,  and  declines  any  further  attention  from 
this  monkish  buffoon  and  harlequin. 

In  a  letter  to  Spalatin,  February  3,  Luther  speaks  of  a 
treatise  on  the  Florentine  Council  that  he  will  publish.  He 
meant  to  refute,  no  doubt,  the  argument  with  which  Aleander 
had  deceived  the  German  Council  of  State. -^i)  It  is  not 
known  that  he  carried  out  this  intention. 

The  .university  claimed  Luther's  liveliest  interest.  To 
Staupitz  at  Salzburg  he  writes  January  14: — 

As  heretofore,  everything  is  in  a  flourishing  condition  with 

US.212) 

On  March  7  he  informs  Spalatin: — 

Two  Counts  of   Stolberg-i-'^)   have  come  to  us  to  study.2i4) 

On  February  17  he  writes  to  him : — 

Lately,  during  the  days  of  the  carnival,  our  youths,  for  a 
great  joke,  carried  about  a  lofty  and  pompous  figure  of  the 
Pope.  Finally  at  the  market-place,  making  as  though  they  would 
throw  him  into  the  creek,  they  dispersed  him  with  his  cardinals, 
bishops,  and  chamberlains  to  all  parts  of  the  town  and  pursued 
them.  It  was  a  very  funny  and  clever  mask.  For  the  enemy  of 
Christ  deserves  such  mockery  because  he  mocks  the  greatest 
kings,  yea,  Christ  Himself.  The  performance  described  in  Latin 
verses  is  now  being  printed.^i-'^) 

Provost  Henning  Goede,  "the  monarch  of  jurispru- 
dence" at  the  university ,-1^')   died  January  21, -i''')   and  Tilo 


211)  See  chap.   G  of  tin's  book. 

212)  XV,  2423;    EB,   3,   70. 

213^  Duke  Wolfgang  (Oct.  15,  I'lOl -March  S,  15.12)  and  Duke  I.ouis 
(Jan.  13,  1505-Aug.  24.  If)?.'))  from  Werthrim  on  the  Main,  sons  of  Duke 
Botho.  They  arc  recorded  in  the  .Mhnm  of  the  university  as  the  first  that 
matriculated   for  the   winter  semester   of  1520. 

214)  XV,  249S;   EB,  3„  106;  SC,  1,  484. 

215)  XXIa,  332;   EB,  3,  86;    SC,  1,   465. 

216)  Ilenning  Goede  was  born  about  1450  at  Ilavelberg;  professor  at 
Erfurt    till    1509,    when    he    went    to    Wittenberg   as    professor    of    canon    law 

and  provost  of  the  city  church.  In  1516  he  returned  to  Erfurt  for  two  years 
and  established  amicable  relations  between  the  two  universities.  He  returned 
to  Wittenberg  and  was  an  oiiponent  of  the  Reformation.  In  1541  his 
heirs  demanded  the  payment  of  a  debt  which,  they  claimed,  Luther  owed 
Ilenning.  The  Elector  oiTered  the  provostship  vacated  by  Henning's  death 
on  January  21  to  Mutian  on  February  12,  but  the  offer  was  declined  and 
the  position  was  finally  filled  by  Justus  Jonas. 

217)  XXIa,   328. 


88  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG. 

Dene  ^is)  ^^.^s  ailing.  Wolfgang  Stehlin,2i9)  who  had 
become  estranged  from  the  Wittenbergers,  left  the  faculty 
and  entered  Romanist  circles.  Dr.  Matthew  Beskau,  also 
of  the  law  faculty,  was  to  be  relieved  of  his  lectures  on 
jurisprudence.  Luther  asked  Spalatin  to  submit  to  the 
Elector  the  following  arrangement  of  the  faculty : — 

I  ask  you  to  be  a  good  spokesman  and  mediator  for  John 
Sch\vertfeger.-2f>)  If  he  could  have  the  lectures  on  civil  law,  in 
which  he  is  equal  even  to  our  Philip,  assigned  him,  he  might 
change  his  form  of  life,  and  from  a  priest  turn  layman,  which 
would  also  be  more  suitable  to  the  man.—i) 

For  the  provostship  Luther  on  January  22  made  the  fol- 
lowing suggestion : — 

In  regard  to  the  election  of  the  new  provost  it  would  not 
seem  absurd  if  you  would  suggest  to  the  Elector  the  appoint- 
ment of  Carlstadt,  and  if  Amsdorf  would  assume  the  latter's 
archdeaconship,  in  order  that  this  excellent  man  might  be  sup- 
plied with  a  fatter  salary.222)  However,  use  your  own  judg- 
ment.223) 

But  on  January  29  Luther  withdraws  this  suggestion : — 

What  I  recently  wrote  about  Carlstadt  as  provost  was 
foolish.224) 

Luther  is  worried  about  a  certain  Tesch.    On  January  14 

he  writes  to  Staupitz : — 

Tesch  225)  js  at  Grimma ;  he  is  said  to  have  left ;  God  keep 
him.226) 


218)  Tilo  Dciic,  horn  14G5,  was  burgomaster  of  Wittenberg  since  1501. 
He   died   November  29,   1.045. 

210)  Of  Rotlieburg,  came  to  Wittenberg  from  Tuebingen  in  1502. 
He  was  chancellor  of  Duke  Henry  of  Saxony  1521-5,  and  lived  at  Freiberg. 
His  opposition  to  the  Reformation  dates  from  this  time. 

220)  John  Schwertfeger  from  Misnia  matriculated  at  Wittenberg  for 
tlie  summer  semester  of  1507.  He  became  .Stehlin's  successor,  and  died 
May  10,  1524. 

221)  XV,  2494;  EB,  3,  75. 

222)  ?2nders  suggests  that  this  was  not  a  friendly  office  of  FAtther 
rendered  to  Carlstadt,  whom  he  wanted  removed  from  his  purely  theological 
chair  and  relegated  to  the  despised  chair  of  the  jus  canomcunt.  The  better 
explanation  would  be  that  Luther  considered  Carlstadt  incompetent  as  a 
theologian    ever    since    the    Leipzig    Debate. 

223)  XXIa,  32.38;   RB,  3,   77. 

224)  XXTa,  329;  EB,  3,  78. 

225)  .Smith:  "By  Teschius,  otherwise  unknown,  is  it  possible  that 
Luther  means  Wolfgang  Zeschau,  Augustinian  Prior  of  Grimma,  and  later 
master  of  the  Hospice  of  St.  John  at  the  same  place?  Luther  speaks  of 
him  on  November  5,  1518  (EB,  1,  276),  and  on  July  26,  1519,  mentions  him 
in  connection  with  Staupitz's  and  Link's  visit  to  Grimma,  saying  that  he 
fears  Zeschau  will  be  dismissed."   SC,  1,  441. 

226)  XV,  2423;   EB,  3,  70. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERC.  89 

On  the  same  day  he  informs  Link: — 

We  have  evil  tidings  concerning  Tesch.227) 

On  February  17  he  advocates  another  change  in  the  fac- 
ulty :— 

Matthew  Adrian22S)  j^^s  asked  permission  to  leave ;  we  gave 
it  to  him  promptly.  So  we  are  delivered  from  that  man. 
Would  that  Aurogallus  might  follow  him  !"9)  By  the  way,  there 
is  a  rumor  that  our  Elector  will  appoint  some  stranger  in  the 
place  of  Dr.  Burckhardt,  -•"'*^)  the  physician.  Inasmuch  as  Mag. 
Augustine  Schurf-'^^)  has  long  solicited  the  position  and  we  have 
interceded  for  him,  why  is  not  he  accepted  who  comes  from  our 
midst?  Or  it  might  be  proper  to  appoint  Dr.  Stephan  Wild.2-'2) 
the  new  son-in-law  of  the  old  collector,  if  our  petitions  cannot 
obtain  the  position  for  Augustine.  I  say  this  in  order  that 
you  may,  if  it  is  necessary  and  you  are  able,  suggest  persons 
suitable  to  us.^ss) 

On  February  27  Luther  informs  Spalatin  that  Amsdorf 
is  composing  something  pleasant  about  "the  singer  at  the 
door,"  most  likely  the  parties  w^ho  had  serenaded  the  Elector 
at  Worms.S'-^^) 

On  March  19  Luther  informs  Spalatin  that  he  has  changed 
his  mind  about  Aurogallus: — 


227)  XV,   2507;   EB,   .3,  72;    SC,   8,   441. 

228)  A  baptized  Spanish  Jew,  a  physician.  He  taught  Hebrew  at  Basle, 
then  at  Heidelberg,  then  (1517)  at  the  Collegium  Trilingue  at  Louvain,  then 
in  Wittenberg,  where  he  remained  about  a  year  (to  February,  1521).  SC, 
1,    290. 

229)  Matthew  Aurogallus,  or  Goldhahn  (c.  1490-Nov.  10,  1543),  of 
Commotau  in  Bohemia,  is  first  heard  of  as  a  school-teacher  in  Schmal- 
kalden.  In  1519  he  came  to  Wittenberg,  and  in  1521  "  was  appointed 
professor  of  Hebrew  to  succeed  Adrian.  He  was  a  great  help  to  Luther 
in  translating  the  Old  Testament.  Tn  15P.5  he  published  a  Hebrew 
grammar,    SC,    1,    465. 

230)  Since  September,  1518,  professor  of  medicine  at  Wittenberg. 
In  the  summer  of  1521  he  went  to  Tngolstadt,  where  he  died  in  the  spring 
of  152G.  He  became  a  strong  opponent  of  I-uther.  He  had  studied 
medicine  at  Ferrara,   and  taught   it  at   Tngolstadt  after  1497,   SC,  1,   204. 

231)  Brother  of  the  jurist,  who  at  this  time  was  at  Worms  and  acted 
as  Luther's  le^al  aid  at  the  Diet.  Augustine  S.  was  born  at  St.  Call,  January 
0,   1495,   and  died   May   9.   1548. 

232)  Stephan  Wild  of  Bleinfeld,  in  the  diocese  of  Aystett,  matricu- 
lated at  Wittenberg  Julv  27,  1518.  He  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  students'  riot  in"  1.520,  had  been  expelled,  sued  for  grace  with  the 
Elector,  and  was  readmitted.  It  seems  that  he  became  Burckhardt's 
successor,  but  left  Wittenberg  in  November.  1522.  and  became  city 
physician  at  Zwickau,  was  elected  into  the  city  council  in  1533,  and  died 
1550.      EB,    3,   88. 

233)  XXIa,   332;   EB,   386;   SC,   1,   465. 

234)  XXIa.  334;   EB,  3,  89;   SC,  1,  472. 


90  WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTEN^G. 

We  have  discussed  the  course  in  Hebrew,  and  in  our  judg- 
ment AurogalUis  is  competent  to  hold  this  chair.  You  may  hint 
his   name  to   the   Elector.235) 

For  once  in  his  life  Luther  had  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  in  his  possession,  and  squirmed  uncomfortably  under 
the  novel  sensation.    He  writes  to  Spalatin  January  16: — 

The  hundred  gulden  left  to  me  I  received  through  Tauben- 
heym  ;-'^^)  Schart-^"^)  also  gave  me  fifty,  so  that  I  begin  to  fear 
that  God  is  giving  me  my  reward.  But  I  have  protested  that  I 
will  not  be  thus  gorged  by  Him  or  I  shall  promptly  return  and 
spend  the  money.  For  what  need  have  I  of  so  much  money? 
I  gave  our  Father  Prior  half  of  it  and  made  him  glad.^^S) 

Also  from  Fabian  von  Feilitzsch  he  received  a  bequest  at 
this  time;   for  on  March  6  he  informs  Spalatin: — 

The  Bishop  of  Misnia  resents  that  money  was  bequeathed  to 
me  by  Schmidling  and  Fabian ;  recently  he  sent  a  secret  messen- 
ger who  was  to  find  out  whether  Fabian  had  really  willed  me 
two  thousand  gulden  in  gold.239) 

On  March  7  he  requests  Link: — 

Give  these  German  books  to  the  apothecary  Stephen  Hoff, 
and  thank  him,  please,  for  the  gift  he  sent  me.^^o) 

A  gift  that  pleased  him  more  than  all  this  money  he  re- 
ports to  Spalatin  February  3 : — 

A  learned  youth  from  Bohemia^^i)  has  sent  me  his  book,  in 
which  he  tries  to  prove  by  eighteen  hypotheses  that  St.  Peter 
never  was  at  Rome ;  but  he  does  not  prove  it.  They  have  sent 
me  a  Bohemian  translation,  printed  with  their  own  types,  of  my 
Ten  Commandments  and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  are  greatly 
spreading  the    Word   among  their   people.2-'2) 


235)    XV,    1724;    EB,    3,    113;    SL,    p.    110. 

230)  John  von  Taubcniicim,  mentioned  in  1490  as  a  page  of  Fred- 
erick the  "Wise,  matriculated  at  Leipzig  1504,  B.  A.  1505.  At  the  latest  in 
1511  he  entered  the  official  service,  becoming  treasurer  and  collector 
of  taxes.  In  1515-6  he  collected  moneys  and  paid  salaries  (including  those 
of  the  professors)  at  Wittenberg.  In  1528  he  was  one  of  the  church 
visitors.  He  died  in  1541  or  1542  as  a  warm  friend  of  Luther.  SC,  1,  325; 
SL,  p.  369.  The  money  of  which  Luther  speaks  was  willed  him  by 
Provost    Schmidling    of   Leitzkau.      DGR,    p.    270. 

237)  Marcus  Scliart  and  his  brother  Bernard  were  the  servants  of  the 
two  natural  sons  of  Elector  Frederick.  Marcus  repeatedly  made  Luther  a 
present   of  a  considerable   simi  of  money.      He  died  in   Hessia  in  1529. 

238)  XV,    2505;    ER,    3,   73;    SC,    1,   442. 

239)  XV,    2496;    EB,    3,   98. 

240)  XV,    2497;    EB,    3,    104. 

241)  The  publication  to  which  Luther  refers  is  that  by  Ulrich  Velenus: 
"In  hoc  libello  gravissiniis  certissimisque  et  in  Sacra  Scriptura  fundatis 
rationibus  variis  probatur,  Apostolitm  Fctrum  Romam  non  venisse,"  etc. 

242)  XXIa,  330  EB,  3,  81;  SC,  1,  451. 


WITH  LUTHER  AT  WITTENBERG.  91 

In  the  letters  contained  in  this  chapter  Luther  has  re- 
ferred to  friendly  services  that  he  fain  would  render,  thus 
reducing  his  time  for  literary  work  still  more.  He  could  not 
meet  all  the  demands  made  upon  him  for  correspondence. 
On  February  9  he  closes  a  letter  to  Staupitz  with  this  re- 
quest : — 

Please  greet  Dr.  Ludwig,  the  physician,2-^3)  y^\^Q  h^s  written 
me  in  a  very  learned  manner.  I  had  no  time  to  write  to  him, 
since  I  am  compelled  to  keep  three  presses  busy.^^^) 

But  no  one  in  distress  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  On  Janu- 
ary 29  he  writes  to  Spalatin : — 

Mag.  Jodocus  Morlin  2^^)  who  has  been  nominated  for  the 
Westhusen  parish,  is  very  poor;  he  asks  for  Christ's  sake  that 
you  and  I  intercede  for  him,  in  order  that  the  cost  of  his 
presentation  at  that  court^-i^^)  may  be  reduced  as  much  as 
possible.  I  pray  that  this  be  done ;  do  you  also  pray.  I  shall 
see  to  it  that  he  has  something  at  least.^^'i') 

A  very  fine  letter  Luther  wrote  to  his  troubled  friend 
Nicholas  Hausmann  at  Schneeberg^^s)  qj^  March  22: — 

I  received  your  letter,  dearest  Nicholas,  telling  me  that  you 
are  called  to  the  Zwickau  pastorate  and  asking  consolation  from 
poor  little  me.  You  know  how  perilous  are  these  times,  and 
that  it  is  simply  that  time  for  flight  which  Christ  predicted.^^O) 
For  it  is  a  time  when  sound  doctrine  is  not  endured, 25<^)  when 
wolves  are  made  shepherds,  and  there  is  no  consolation  for  us, 
save  to  pray  the  Lord,  by  whose  aid  we,  too,  may  either  escape 
or  stand  fast  in  these  evil  days.  I  am  daily  experiencing  ever 
more  how  widely  and  deeply  Satan  reigns,  so  that  it  is  a  horror 


243)  Probably  Dr.   Leonhard   Schmaus. 

244)  XV,   2424;    EB,   3,   83;    SL,   p.    108. 

245)  lie  had  been  a  pupil  of  Eck,  and  at  this  lime  held  the  chair  of 
metaphysics  at  Wittenberg.  The  pastorate  to  which  he  was  called  was 
located  in  Saxonia-Meininpen  and  had  been  a  prebend  of  Goede.  He  died 
as  pastor  of  this  parish  September  15,  1550.  During  the  visitation  of 
churches  in  1528  he  was  almost  deposed  from  office  because  the  peasants 
complained  that  he  was  addicted  to  drink,  although  they  liked  hmi  as  a 
preacher.      He   reformed,   and  had   a  very   good   reputation   after  that. 

246)  The   court   of   Margrave   George   of   Brandenburg. 

247)  XXIa,   329,   EB,   3,   78. 

24S)  ITausmann  (1479-October  17,  1538),  born  at  Freiberg  in  Saxony, 
was  one  of  Luther's  warmest  friends,  more  than  a  hundred  letters  of  the 
Reformer  to  him  being  extant.  In  1521  he  became  pastor  at  Zwickau, 
from  which  place  he  was  driven  by  a  quarrel  with  his  congregation  in 
1531.  .'Xfter  spending  ten  months  at  Wittenberg,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
court  chaplaincy  of  the  Princes  of  Anhalt  at  Dessau.  In  1538  he  went  to 
Freiberg.     SC.  1,  498. 

249)    Matt.   24,   16. 

850)   2  Tim.  4,  3, 


92  BRUECK    AND   GLAPION. 

to  me  to  envisage  the  Church.  My  conviction  has  at  last 
reached  this  point  that  no  one  can  be  saved  unless  he  fights 
against  the  laws  and  commands  of  the  Pope  and  of  the  bishops 
with  all  his  might  through  life  and  death.  Is  this  surprising  or 
novel  to  you?  But  it  is  so,  dearest  Nicholas.  If  you  do  not 
grasp  it,  you  are  not  capable  of  receiving  any  consolation  from 
me.  We  have  found  that  the  Pope  and  his  men  are  simply 
enemies  of  Christ,  so  that  no  one  can  preach  save  he  who  takes 
care  to  lead  the  sheep  away  from  Him  and  to  drive  them  off 
as  a  wolf.  You  know  how  loudly  they  shout  against  this  crime 
nowadays,  calling  it  schism,  heresy,  and  a  boundless  evil ;  but 
what  can  we  do?  There  is  no  other  means  of  safety  in  this 
time  of  perdition. 

Now,  Nicholas,  since  my  advice,  if  it  is  evil,  must  be  worst 
of  all  for  him  who  gives  it,  I  will  let  you  act  on  your  judgment 
and  at  your  own  risk  in  regard  to  following  it.  If  you  take  the 
pastorate,  you  will  make  yourself  the '  enemy  of  the  Pope  and 
the  bishops  by  fighting  their  decrees;  if  you  do  not  fight  them, 
you  will  be  an  enemy  of  Christ.  Christ's  faith  does  not  stand 
in  its  full  liberty  amidst  their  snares  and  fallacies.  In  all  this 
I  am  judging  nothing  for  you,  but  advising  you  as  I  myself 
would  wish  to  be  advised.  You  should  either  not  ask  advice,  or 
you  should  take  it  in  a  godly  and  kind  manner  when  given.  I 
call  God  to  witness  that  I  can  give  no  other.251) 


11.  Brueck  and  Glapion. 

First  Conference. 

Picking  up  the  threads  of  our  story  which  we  dropped  at 
Worms,  we  meet  with  a  report  of  Aleander  to  Cardinal 
Medici  on  February  18: — 

The  Saxon  Elector  has  on  seven  or  eight  consecutive  days 
delegated  a  counselor  of  strictly  Lutheran  tendencies252)  to  hold 
conferences  of  three  to  four  hours'  duration  with  the  confessor 
[of  the  Emperor]  ;  but  there  has  been  no  result.^^s) 


251)    XXTa,    34.3:    EB,    3.    118;    SC.    1,    504. 

2r)2)  Gregory  Brueck  (1483  or  1486-1557),  born  near  Wittenberg, 
wbere  he  studied  15023,  then  at  Frankfort  on  the  Oder,  then  back  to 
Wittenberg,  where  he  became  Bachelor  of  Law  in  1509.  In  1520  he 
entered  the  Elector's  service,  soon  rising  to  the  highest  position,  that  qf 
Chancellor,  SC,  1,  462. 

353)   BAL,  p.  64;  KDA,  p.  02. 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  93 

This  brief  memorandum  reads  as  if  Aleander  were  not 
interested  in  the  event  and  hence  took  only  a  perfunctory 
notice  of  it;  and  yet  it  refers  to  an  earnest  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  nuncio  to  break  down  the  influence  of  the  Saxon 
Elector  at  the  Diet.  Every  attempt  which  Aleander  had 
made  to  get  into  touch  with  the  Elector,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
control  the  latter's  decisions,  had  been  foiled  by  the  Elector's 
refusal  to  become  personally  identified  with  Luther's  contro- 
versy. Aleander  had  reached  an  impasse  in  his  maneuvers, 
and  felt  that  he  must  approach  "the  basilisk"  from  another 
ang-le.  He  resorted  to  his  most  efficient  agent,  the  Emperor's 
confessor,  whom  he  used  as  a  decoy  to  draw  the  Elector  out 
of  his  studied  neutrality,  and  to  break  down  what  he  regarded 
as  the  Elector's  policy  of  temporizing.  A  favorable  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself  soon  after  Faber's  funeral  oration, 
which  had  perplexed  the  Elector.  He  was  informed  that  the 
Emperor  and  the  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Diet  were 
bent  upon  the  destruction  of  Luther.  Faber's  oration  and 
the  Emperor's  manifest  favor  to  Faber  did  not  at  all  accord 
with  such  a  purpose.  The  Saxon  court  was  now  desirous  of 
learning  the  Emperor's  real  intention  regarding  Luther.  It 
had  been  rumored  that  the  Emperor  never  had  issued  a 
mandate  to  Aleander  for  the  burning  of  Luther's  books. 
Luther  himself  believed  this  rumor,  and  held  that  Aleander 
in  his  inquisitorial  acts  was  an  impostor,  and  his  auto-da-fes 
frauds  which  had  been  rendered  possible  by  large  bribes  from 
the  ''reptile  fund"  of  the  Curia.  Could  it  be  possible  that  the 
cooperation  of  the  imperial  court  in  Luther's  persecution 
by  the  Curia  was  all  a  deception?  On  the  other  hand,  Ale- 
ander and  the  Emperor  with  his  ministers  were  just  as 
anxious  to  learn  how  far  the  Elector  meant  to  go  in  his 
protection  of  Luther. 

At  this  moment  the  oily  and  inscrutable  Glapion  hinted  to 
Henry  of  Nassau  that  he  knew  a  way  to  settle  the  Luther 
affair.  Nassau  and  Chievres  had  been  the  persons  through 
whom  the  Elector  had  conveyed  his  wishes  concerning  Luther 


94  BRUECK   AND   GLAPION. 

to  the  Emperor.25^)  Glapion's  object,  which  he  plainly  stated 
to  Nassau,  was  to  obtain  a  private  interview  with  the  Elector. 
Nassau  communicated  Glapion's  wish  to  the  Elector,  and  the 
Elector  instructed  his  trusted  Chancellor  Brueck  (Pontanus) 
to  confer  with  Glapion.  Regarding  these  conferences  we 
have  the  reports  of  Brueck  to  the  Elector,  drawn  up  with  the 
painstaking  accuracy  of  the  statesman. 

Brueck  began  the  conversation  by  stating  to  Glapion  that 
he  had  been  authorized  and  had  received  instructions  for 
this  interview  from  the  Elector.  Glapion  at  once  assumed 
a  very  confidential  air,  and  admitted  Brueck  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  certain  profound  secrets  which  he  had  hitherto  kept 
concealed  in  his  heart.     Brueck  relates : — 

His  Imperial  Majesty's  confessor  replied  that  he  had  been 
greatly  and  exceedingly  delighted  with  Luther's  writings ;  for  he 
had  discovered  and  observed  in  them  a  noble,  new  plant  that  had 
sprung  up  in  Luther's  heart;  and  not  only  had  it  germinated, 
but  it  had  thrived  so  prodigiously  that  twigs  and  branches  had 
grown  from  it,  and  useful  fruits  had  made  their  appearance 
which  might  have  been  of  service  to  the  Church.  True,  others 
(before  Luther)  had  had  knowledge  and  understanding  of  these 
things,  but  none  had  mustered  the  courage  to  tell  the  plain 
truth.  However,  when  he  had  received  and  read  the  treatise 
on  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  he  had  received  a  severe  shock. 
He  had  felt  as  if  some  one  had  whipped  and  bruised  him  from 
head  to  foot.  He  was  loath  to  believe  that  Luther  would  own 
this  treatise  as  his,  for  it  lacked  the  style  and  ability  of  his 
former  writings.  But  even  if  it  were  his  and  he  were  to 
acknowledge  it  as  his  own,  Glapion  said  that  he  could  under- 
stand that  Luther  had  been  roused  to  anger  by  the  Pope's 
bull,  and  that  he  had  written  the  treatise  in  hot  fury.  However, 
no  wound  was  so  great  and  grievous  but  a  remedy  could  be 
found  for  its  healing.  He  was  in  hope  that  for  this  matter, 
too,  a  redress  could  be  found. 

Then  he  began  to  speak  of  Luther's  errors.  Upon  my 
request  that  he  permit  me  to  make  a  note  of  the  erroneous 
articles  for  my  report  to  Your  Electoral  Grace,  he  let  me  write 
them  down  as  he  enumerated  them,  and  I  also  took  down  the 
remarks  with  which  he  interlarded  his  enumeration. 


364)   See  chap.  5  in  this  book. 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  95 

Glapion  had  a  copy  of  the  first  print  of  Luther's  Babylo- 
nian Capihity  in  his  hand,  as  his  page  references  show.  He 
had  marked  the  passages  that  had  struck  him  as  objection- 
able. The  bracketed  portions  in  the  Appendix  are  Bruecl:'s 
comment.  Glapion's  exceptions  were  mostly  verbatim  cita- 
tions :  they  referred  to  the  subjects  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
the  mass,  the  sacraments  of  penitence,  confirmation,  matri- 
mony, ordination  to  the  priesthood,  and  extreme  unction. 
Brueck  continues  his  report: — 

When  I  had  noted  down  all  his  exceptions,  I  questioned  him 
in  regard  to  some  of  them,  in  order  to  find  out  the  drift  of  his 
argument.  He  stated  that  Christ  said  to  St.  Peter,  when  He 
promised  him  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  that  Peter's 
faith  should  not  fail.-*'^*'^)  Accordingly,  it  was  impossible  to 
believe  that  God  should  have  permitted  His  Church  to  be  in 
error  up  to  the  present  time,  and  all  that  Luther  had  said  in  his 
Babylonian  Captivity  were  mere  words.  Therefore  it  would  be 
proper  to  adhere  to  the  established  custom  of  the  Church.  How- 
ever, this  is  what  he  was  willing  to  do  if  he  could  obtain  Your 
Grace's  consent,  via.,  he  would  call  on  Your  Grace  and  bring  with 
him  some  one  that  knows  Latin,  German,  Italian,  and  French, 
and  Your  Grace  might  select  me  or  some  one  else  (as 
witnesses),  and  he  would  then  explain  orally  and  at  length  the 
basis  of  Luther's  errors.  I  noticed  that  he  had  diligently  read 
the  entire  treatise,  and  all  his  marginal  jottings  were  arguments 
for  the  contrary  opinion.  I  replied  that  business  at  the  Diet 
might  prevent  Your  Grace  from  entering  upon  his  plan.  Besides, 
I  reminded  him  of  what  I  had  said  at  our  introduction,  that  Your 
Grace  had  not  espoused  the  cause  of  Doctor  Luther.  Next,  I 
requested — since  he  himself  had  said  that  there  was  no  wound 
but  a  remedy  could  be  found  for  it,  and  since  he  had  offered 
to  Count  von  Nassau  to  suggest  means  for  a  settlement — that  he 
name  them.  He  then  suggested  such  means  and  began  with  a 
sanctimonious  mien  to  tell  how  His  Imperial  Majesty  had 
earnestly  desired  and  striven  to  have  such  an  eminent  man  as 
Luther  reconciled  with  the  Christian  Church  and  brought  into 
a  relation  of  unity  with  it.  For  before  the  publication  of  the 
Babylonian  Captiznty  His  Imperial  Majesty  had  derived  some 
pleasure  from  Luther's  writings.  Moreover,  as  there  was  reason 
for  supposing  that  Doctor  Luther  had  issued  this  treatise  partly 


2r>5)    Luke  22,  32. 


96  BRUECK   AND  GLAPION. 

in  anger,  and  as  none  of  his  teachings  in  this  treatise  were  so 
incorrect  that  a  Christian  meaning  and  good  Catholic  sense 
could  not  be  found  in  them  and  drawn  from  them,  Doctor 
Luther  was  to  declare  that  he  did  not  wish  to  have  his  teachings 
understood  in  any  other  than  in  that  sense,  vie,  the  sense  which 
the  Romanists  would  extract  from  them  and  regard  as  Christian 
according  to  their  pleasure.  And  though  Luther  had  written 
with  greater  zeal  than  his  intended  meaning  required,  he  should 
say  that  this  had  been  due  to  his  agitated  and  angry  state  of 
mind,  and  that  he  had  written  salva  pace  sanctae  matris  ccclcsiae, 
without  wishing  to  endanger  the  peace  of  Holy  Mother  Church. 
After  making  this  suggestion,  he  asked  again  to  be  admitted  to 
Your  Grace,  and  begged  that  3'ou  would  hear  him  personally 
and  discuss  the  matter  with  him,  that  he  might  explain  his 
suggestion  to  you  more  fully.  But  if  this  could  not  be  done  on 
account  of  Your  Grace's  other  business,  he  asked  that  Your  Grace 
would  appoint  me  or  some  one  else  to  confer  with  him  and  state 
Your  Grace's  opinion  of  the  suggestion  he  has  made.  For  if 
Martin  should  accept  his  suggestion,  he  would  have  many  learned 
people  in  all  nations  on  his  side,  who  would  support  him  in 
what  he  had  said  in  his  other  writings.  I  said  in  reply,  as  at  the 
start,  that  although  Your  Grace  did  not  intend  to  espouse 
Martin's  cause,  I  would  use  diligence  to  convey  his  request  to 
Your  Grace,  etc.  Finally  he  asked  me  to  assure  Your  Grace  of 
his  cordial  prayer  in  Your  Grace's  behalf,  and  that  he  wished 
Your  Grace  a  blessed  night  in  Christ  Jesus.^^^O 

While  Glapion  engaged  in  this  reassuring  interview  witli 
Rrucck,  he  was  distributing  three  hundred  copies  of  the 
bull  Bxsurgc  Domine,  for  which  he  had  sent  to  Rome,  to 
Franciscan  convents  in  Europe,  in  order  to  fire  the  monks 
to  still  greater  animosity  against  Lnther.  P>ut  the  mask 
of  hypocrisy  which  he  had  donned  for  the  interview  witli 
the  Saxon  chancellor  did  not  conceal  Glapion's  duplicity  from 
Brueck.  Glapion  achieved  nothing;  he  only  revealed  the 
irreparable  damage  which  Luther  had  inflicted  on  the 
Roman  hierarchy  by  his  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Cap- 
tivity. The  wound  inflicted  by  that  single  treatise  could 
never  be  healed  except  by  a  withdrawal  of  the  treatise. 


25G)    FNU,   p.   36  f. 


BRUECK    AND   GLAriON,  97 

Second  Conference. 

The  interview  with  Glapion  had  been  without  any 
tangible  results.  There  was  only  one  consideration  that 
could  move  the  Elector  to  have  these .  interviews  continued : 
there  might  be  some  advantage  in  following  the  suggestion 
that  commissioners  look  into  Luther's  affair;  and  this 
advantage  the  Elector  did  not  wish  to  lose  by  a  refusal. 
Accordingly,  Brueck  was  authorized  to  hold  a  second  con- 
ference with  Glapion.  He  opened  the  conference  by  express- 
ing the  Elector's  regrets  that  he  could  not  grant  Glapion 
a  personal  interview.     Brueck  reports : — 

His  Majesty's  confessor  answered  that  there  would  have 
been  no  need  of  excusing  Your  Grace,  whose  virtue  was  poured 
out  with  transcendent  splendor  on  the  whole  world,  to  a  poor 
monk  and  brother.  His  huml)le  request  for  a  personal  inter- 
view with  Your  Grace  had  been  made,  not  so  much  for  Doctor 
Luther's  sake,  as  rather  for  his  own  sake,  in  order  that  he 
might  personally  obtain  a  taste  of  the  great  gifts  and  excellent 
qualities  conferred  on  Your  Grace  by  God,  which  he  had  heard 
extolled  by  many. 

But  no  matter !  He  declared  that  he  had  grasped  the  purpose 
of  my  remarks,  etc.  He  would  not  conceal  from  me  that  before 
reading  the  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  he  had  always 
held  that  Luther's  mind  and  purpose  had  been  a  most  salutary 
one,  by  which  many  timid  people,  who  had  attained  to  the  same 
knowledge  before  Luther,  had  been  strengthened  and  encouraged 
to  publish  the  truth  more  plainly  than  they  had  previously  done ; 
and  that  Luther  had  aimed  at  this  happy  end,  vi::.,  to  bring  about 
a  general  reformation  of  the  Church,  which  had  indeed  become 
disfigured  a  long  time  ago  by  many  abuses,  and  many  learned 
people  had  believed  that  this  was  Luther's  purpose,  and  had 
praised  him  for  it.  But  when  the  treatise  on  the  Babylonian 
Captivity  appeared,  he  and  others  had  observed  that  Luther 
was  essaying  to  roll  a  stone  that  was  too  heavy  for  his  strength, 
and  had  thereby  thwarted  his  former  laudable  and  good  purpose, 
from  which  the  entire  Christian  Church  might  have  derived  a 
benefit.  Instead  of  carefully  considering  the  inopportune  time 
and  the  interests  of  the  common  people  and  of  the  great  lords, 
he  had  rolled  an  obstacle  into  his  own  path  that  would  frustrate 
his  salutary  beginning.  Matters  had  now  come  to  such  a  pass 
that,  if  the  affair  were  to  be  put  on  a  smooth  way  again,  there 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    OF    CAESAR.  7 


98  BRUECK   AND   GLAPION. 

would  have  to  be  conferences  in  strictest  secrecy,  and  there  must 
not  be  much  public  discussion.  For  even  without  these  the  devil 
would  not  omit  sowing  his  seed,  in  order  to  hinder  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  Holy  Church,  and  to  excite  unrest,  war,  and  rev- 
olution. Accordingly,  his  humble  request  was  to  approach  Your 
Grace,  and  that  Your  Grace  would  take  to  heart  the  interests  of 
the  entire  Christian  Church,  and  delegate  some  one  in  strictest 
secrecy  to  treat  of  this  matter.  Many  considerations  and  circum- 
stances would  have  to  be  weighed  in  this  connection,  and  further 
suggestions  and  means  [for  composing  the  trouble]  submitted. 
For  if  it  had  been  feasible,  and  if  he  had  noticed  that  it  would 
redound  to  the  benefit  of  Christian  unity  to  have  these  matters 
publicly  discussed,  he  would  long  ago  have  published  a!  great  book 
which  he  had  written  against  Luther  and  in  which  he  had  refuted 
the  Babylonian  Captivity  with  respectable  arguments. 

Glapion's  insistence  on  a  secret  conference  was  inspired 
by  the  dread  that  Luther  might  be  brought  to  Worms, — 
an  issue  that  was  being  vojced  with  daily  increasing  emphasis 
in  these  days.     Brueck  continues : — 

I  replied  that  His  Reverence  had  heard  me  state  repeatedly 
that  my  gracious  lord  had  not  espoused  Luther's  cause,  and  as 
Your  Grace  had  not  foreseen  that  such  a  request  would  be  made 
of  him  at  this  time,  he  had  brought  nobody  with  him  sufficiently 
versed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  Latin  language.  Besides, 
a  point  to  be  considered  would  be  this :  with  what  right  could  a 
conference  be  held  regarding  Luther  when  the  latter  had  given 
Your  Grace  no  command,  mandate,  or  authorization  to  that 
effect,  and  Your  Grace  would  not  accept  any? 

The  Father  replied  that  he  would  be  satisfied  if  Your  Grace 
would  send  me,  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  I  had 
been  ordered  and  commissioned  by  Your  Grace  to  take  hold  of 
and  treat  this  matter,  the  whole  affair  to  be  kept  quiet  and  secret 
for  the  reasons  named.  For  this  reason  he  had  desired  to  confer 
personally  with  Your  Grace,  or  to  have  some  one  sent  by  Your 
Grace  on  a  secret  mission.  Moreover,  there  would  be  others 
present  besides  himself,  and  especially  His  Majesty  would 
appoint  some  one  to  attend  this  conference.  The  other  point,  z//r., 
that  Your  Grace  had  not  espoused  Luther's  cause,  he  completely 
passed  over  and  proceeded  to  assure  me  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  that  he  was  acting  with  a  good  intention  for  the  good  of 
Christianity  and  of  Doctor  Luther,  who  had  opened  the  door  to 
many  blessings.  The  said  Doctor,  he  stated,  could  not  have 
done  anything  worse  than  to  publish  the  clumsy  treatise  on  the 
Babylonian  Captivity,  which  contained  nothing  but  words.  For 
a  remedy  would  have  been  found  for  all  the  other  ills,  if  Doctor 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  99 

Luther  had  shown  greater  consideration  for  the  general  welfare 
of  the  Christian  Church  than  for  his  own  personal  honor  and 
convenience,  if  he  were  seeking  not  his  own,  but  the  things  that 
are  of  God.^-'*''')  and  would  not  himself  blast  the  good  intention 
with  which  he  undoubtedly  began  his  work.  For  he  had  believed, 
said  Glapion,  that  Luther  was  striving  for  a  reformation  of 
the  Church, 

I  now  repeated,  in  part,  my  former  statements  and  prepared 
to  leave,  but  the  Father  would  not  let  me.  Finally  I  said,  "How, 
then,  can  the  Doctor  and  the  Christian  Church  in  general  be 
helped?" 

The  Father  replied :  It  could  be  done  in  this  way  that  Luther 
either  recanted  the  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  and 
stated  that  he  had  written  the  treatise  in  an  angry  mood,  having 
been  provoked  by  his  adversaries  and  the  bull,  or  that  he 
disavowed  it  and  refused  to  acknowledge  it  as  his  own,  which  he 
could  easily  do  on  good  grounds  and  with  honor  to  himself.  For 
he  could  rest  assured  that  nobody  who  had  read  Luther's  former 
writings  would  believe  that  Luther  was  the  author  of  this 
unfortunate  treatise.  Why  should  he  be  concerned  al)0ut  his 
faiUire  to  acknowledge  the  treatise  as  his? 

I  replied :  "Reverend  father,  even  if  Luther  were  to  follow 
your  suggestion  regarding  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  that  would 
not  relieve  him  of  his  troubles.  For  as  Your  Reverence  knows, 
several  of  his  books  and  teachings  were  condemned  at  Rome  by 
the  bull  before  this  treatise  was  published." 

The  Father  replied:  "Hor,  segnor,  hor!"  (Tut.  tut,  my  dear 
sir!)  If  Luther  would  do  as  suggested  with  the  treatise  on  the 
Babylonian  Captivity,  a  way  would  be  found  out  of  the  other 
difficulties.  For  it  is  true,  they  say  that  the  Pope  has  previously 
condemned  some  of  his  books  and  teachings,  and  has  issued  a 
bull  to  that  effect.  But  this  condemnation  was  for  contumacy 
and  disobedience,  and  Luther  was  not  tried.  Now,  if  Luther 
were  to  accept  this  suggestion  regarding  the  Babylonian  Captivity, 
His  Holiness  the  Pope  could  by  virtue  of  the  plenitude  of  his 
power  cancel  the  sentence  and  stay  the  execution,  and  grant  him 
another  hearing.  And  this  would  have  to  be  done,  for  he  knew 
that  without  such  a  hearing  the  proceedings  against  Luther  would 
not  be  considered  just  and  fair;  the  case  would  have  to  be  com- 
mitted to  upright,  intelligent,  impartial  men  of  learning  that 
were  unexceptionable  in  Germany.  Still,  his  advice  was  that 
Luther  should  not  quit  the  country  and  thus  deprive  himself  of 
the  protection  of  his  powerful  and  excellent  prince,  and  should 


257)   Phil.   2,   21. 


lOU  BRUECK   AND   GLAFION. 

not  place  himself  under  the  protection  of  some  one  else.  "I 
mean  well  with  Luther,"  he  said ;  "for  nothing  would  please  me 
better  than  a  reformation  of  the  Church,  for  which  we  now  have 
a  leader,  God^  be  praised !"  He  asked  me  once  more  to  communi- 
cate his  request  to  Your  Grace ;  for  if  some  one  were  appointed 
by  Your  Grace  for  a  conference,  he  would  receive  further  sug- 
gestions. 

Furthermore  he  declared  it  a  simple  matter^ss)  to  introduce 
heresy,  or  error.  The  Bible,  he  said,  was  a  book  similar  to  soft 
wax  that  could  be  drawn  and  twisted  as  a  person  liked.  If 
anything  were  gained  by  it,  he  could  start  much  more  violent  and 
strange  opinions  and  support  them  well  with  Scripture  than 
Luther.  He  named  a  few  teachings.  He  would  prove  from 
Scripture  that  no  one  at  the  present  time  had  authority  to  cele- 
brate mass,  because  when  Christ  said :  "When  you  do  all  this,  do 
it  in  remembrance  of  Me."-^^)  He  gave  this  authority  only  to 
His  apostles. 

Likewise,  he  would  prove  that  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar 
not  only  is  there  no  transubstantiation,  but  God  is  not  present 
at  all.  For  when  Christ  said,  "This  is  My  body,"  there  follow 
in  the  Greek  text  the  words:  "which  is  broken  for  you,"  not: 
"which  is  given,"  and  it  is  impossible  to  break  the  body  of  Christ 
because  it  is  glorified. 

Again,  Christ  said :  "If  you  have  an  eye  that  inclines  to 
lust,  pluck  it  out  and  cast  it  from  thee."260)  Now,  if  all  that 
Christ  said  had  to  be  regarded  as  precepts,  every  one  would  be 
obliged  to  pluck  out  such  an  eye.  How,  then,  could  Luther  say 
that  everything  that  is  expressed  in  the  Gospel  is  a  precept? 

Luther  says  the  vows  of  chastity  are  to  be  void.  Paul 
plainly  contradicts  this,  for  while  he  does  not  forbid  matrimony 
and  advises  men  to  marry,  he  himself  took  no  wife  and  com- 
manded his  brethren  to  observe  chastity  when  he  said :  "I 
would  that  all  men  were  even  as  I  myself. "-^i)  Did  he,  then, 
command  chastity  [celibacy]  ? 

Again,  Luther  says,  nobody  is  to  become  a  monk  unless  he 
knows  how  to  distinguish,  between  the  work  of  a  farmer  and  that 
of  a  priest.  Good  God,  who  is  unable  to  discern  that  in  God's 
sight  there  is  a  difference  between  works?  It  is  plain  that  Christ 
regards  the  work  of  Mary  Magdalene  as  higher  than  that  of 
Martha. 


3r)S)   "eine     slcchtc     sache"  =  eine     eirfaclie,     leichte     Sachc;     Ilausrath 
reproduces    tliis:      "eiiic    schlimme    Sache." 

259)  1   Cor.  11,  25,  freely  quoted. 

260)  Matt.    18,   9. 

261)  1  Cor.  7.  7. 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  101 

Finally  he  begged  me  to  persuade  Luther  not  to  destroy  the 
good  work  he  had  begun,  and  not  to  defeat  his  own  purpose, 
and  thus  cause  greater  evil  and  inflict  serious  damage  on  the  en- 
tire Christian  Church  as- well  as  on  himself.  "Suppose  His  Maj- 
esty to-day  or  to-morrow  were  to  unfurl  his  banner  and  march 
against  the  rebels,  where  would  Luther  find  protection?  Who 
would  keep  him,  or  go  to  any  expense  on  his  account?  I  am 
aware  that  the  majority  of  the  German  nation  and  of  the  princes 
are  with  the  clergy.  Consider  what  that  means.  What  would 
our  rivals,  the  kings  of  France,  England,  and  others,  do,  if  they 
were  to  behold  us  torn  by  internal  strife?  To  be  sure,  they 
would  like  to  see  that  best  of  all.  My  advice,  therefore,  is  that 
Luther  shape  his  course  so  as  not  to  thwart  his  own  good 
purpose."  At  this  point  I  took  my  leave  of  him,  and  he  again 
instructed  me  to  assure  Your  Grace  of  his  earnest  prayer  for 
you. 

Aside  from  the  confessor's  levity  and  recklessness  in 
handling  Scripture-texts,  two  points  stand  out  prominently 
in  this  interview:  1)  his  fear  that  Luther  might  quit  his 
shelter  at  Wittenberg  and  find  an  asylum  elsewhere,  most 
probably  with  Sickingen  and  Hutten  at  the  Ebernburg ; 
2)  that  the  issue  of  an  armed  attempt  to  suppress  the 
rising  "rebellion"  in  Germany  was  being  considered  at  this 
time  by  persons  closest  to  the  Emperor  and  in  a  position  to 
shape  his  decision.  And  these  Roman  gentlemen — min- 
isters of  Christ  and  the  Gospel — while  plotting  war  have 
branded  Luther  as  a  bloodthirsty  anarchist  '.^^s) 

Third  Conference:. 

The  Elector  had  instructed  Brueck  to  remind  Glapion 
of  the  fruitless  conferences  betw^een  Luther  and  Cajetan, 
and  of  the  Elector's  conferences  at  Cologne  with  the  Bishop 
of  Trent  regarding  the  violent  activities  of  the  papal  nuncios 
Caraccioli  and  Aleander.  Brueck  carried  out  these  instruc- 
tions, and  he  reports  : — 

His  Majesty's  confessor  replied  to  my  reminder  that  con- 
cerning the  conference  with  Cardinal  Cajetan  at  Augsburg  and 
afterwards  with  the  papal  legate  Charles  von  Miltitz  he  had 
learned  from  the  letter  to  His  Holiness  with  which  Luther  had 


262)   FNU,    pp.    4S-50. 


102  BRUECK    AND   GLAPION, 

prefaced  his  treatise  on  The  Liberty  of  a  Christian  Man,  and  that 
my  account  of  those  conferences  agreed  with  what  he  had  read. 
But  of  the  conference  at  Cologne  regarding  the  papal  nuncios 
Marinus  [Caraccioli]  and  Aleander  he  had  had  no  knowledge, 
nor  could  he  commend  the  actions  of  the  nuncios  in  burning 
Luther's  books  at  Cologne  and  Mayence.  He  then  passed  on  to 
Your  Grace's  principal  request,  viz.,  that  he  should  name  the 
proofs  for  the  errors  of  Doctor  Luther  to  which  he  had  taken 
exception,  in  order  that  they  might  be  presented  to  Doctor 
Luther.  He  said  that  there  were  two  points  which  he  wished 
to  note  in  his  reply : — 

1)  He  desired  to  have  the  exceptions  submitted  by  him 
regarded  as  an  appendix  and  as  on  a  par  with  the  other 
treatises  and  teachings  of  Luther  that  had  been  condemned  in 
the  bull.  From  this  it  would  follow — and  the  other  side  would 
have  to  accept  this  view — that  if  Luther  made  a  revocation  or 
explanation  in  the  manner  suggested,  he  would  thereby  have 
silently  recanted  nearly  all  of  his  previous  writings,  and  there 
would  then  be  no  need  of  a  further  hearing.  Now  Glapion 
declared  that  he  could  not  know  whether  any  of  the  excep- 
tions which  he  had  submitted  could  really  pass  as  an  appen- 
dix, unless  the  former  treatises  of  Luther  were  given  a  special 
interpretation.  For,  in  the  first  place,  he  did  not  know  whether 
Luther  in  any  of  his  previous  treatises  had  said  or  touched  upon 
the  point  that  by  Baptism  all  of  us  have  equally  become  priests 
and  may  discharge  the  functions  of  priest.  Another  point  to 
which  h^  had  referred  before  was  that  no  man  has  power  or 
authority  to  issue  laws  binding  on  a  Christian.  Again,  that  no 
man  was  to  receive  priestly  orders  unless  he  was  intelligent 
enough  to  know  the  difference  between  the  work  of  a  farmer  and 
that  of  a  monk  or  priest.  He  said  he  would  like  to  know  how 
these  teachings  would  be  regarded  as  corollaries  to  Luther's 
previous  teachings ;  for  these  teachings,  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  stated  in  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  Luther  would  never 
maintain.  However,  that  these  teachings,  as  he  had  stated  to 
Count  von  Nassau  and  me,  could  be  in  a  manner  correctly  used 
and  taken  in  a  good  sense,  was  true.  Luther  himself  had 
explained  some  of  these  teachings  in  his  treatise  on  The  Liberty 
of  a  Christian  Man,  in  which  he  had  exhibited  great  knowledge, 
skill  and  spirit,  and  had  written  like  a  man. 

2)  In  all  fairness  he  would  have  to  say  that  Doctor  Luther 
ought  to  fortify  his  treatise  by  quotations  from  Scripture.  He 
had  found  in  the  treatise  no  Scripture  cited  that  looked  to  him 
like  a  sufficient  proof  for  Luther's  teachings.  For,  although  no 
definite  statement  is  made  in  the  Gospel  regarding  the  number 


BRUECK   AND   GLAPION.  103 

of  sacraments,  still  the  Church  had  hitherto  held  and  ordained 
that  there  were  seven  sacraments,  and  some  regard  must  be  had 
for  the  time-honored  usage  of  the  Church.  For  Christ  had 
reserved  many  things  for  the  Church  to  ordain,  which  He  did  not 
ordain  Himself,  saying:  "I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto 
you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now ;  but  when  He,  the  Spirit  of 
Truth,  is  come,  ye  will  perceive  them. "263)  For  this  reason 
Scotus  had  said  before  Luther  that  he  would  not  determine  any- 
thing except  the  Church  had  determined  it,  and  had  stuck  to  the 
usage  of  the  Church. 

Likewise,  Bernard  says  in  one  Epistle  (regarding  an  edition 
of  the  Bible)  :  "We  accept  the  better  edition,  and  so  the  Church 
has  accepted  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  but  not  that  of  Bar- 
tholomew." 

Glapion  said  that,  if  Luther  had  reproved  the  abuses  which 
the  priests  practise  in  administering  the  sacraments  to  the  people, 
and  which  he  had  in  part  indicated,  he  would  have  received  the 
praises  of  all  men.  Glapion  would  readily  believe  that  the  lay- 
men would  flock  to  Luther,  because  they  were  forCed  to  buy  the 
sacraments  from  the  priests,  and  were  in  other  ways  oppressed. 

When  Luther's  first  treatise  on  grace  and  indulgence  was 
published,  he  deserved  praise.  There  were  not  many  learned 
people  at  that  time  who  did  not  side  with  Luther. 

Glapion  now  began  to  make  many  vague  statements,  and  1 
told  him  that,  not  being  versed  in  Holy  Writ,  I  could  not  remem- 
ber his  reasons  for  believing  Luther  in  error,  and  he  had  surely 
understood  that  Your  Grace  had  requested  that  his  exceptions 
be  submitted  in  writing  or  in  some  such  way  as  to  make  it 
possible  to  present  them  to  Doctor  Luther.  For  since  he  had 
offered  to  give  his  reasons  to  Your  Grace  orally,  etc.,  etc. 

He  replied  that  "of  making  many  books  there  was  no 
end"  ;^^^)  one  book  was  coming,  the  other  going,  and  nothing  was 
being  accomplished  except  that  the  common  people  were  scandal- 
ized. For  this  reason  he  did  not  like  to  take  up  his  pen.  Recently 
a  certain  Brother  Ambrosius  [Catharinus]  of  the  Order  of 
Preaching  Friars  had  written  against  Luther,  and  His  Holiness 
had  these  days  sent  the  treatise  to  His  Majesty.  "What  has  he 
written?  And  what  will  he  have  achieved  when  Luther  gets 
to  see  the  treatise?     I  do  not  like  such  things." 

He  said  his  advice  had  always  been  to  discuss  such  matters 
on  the  quiet  among  the  learned.     For  otherwise  the  devil  could 


2G3)   John   IC,    12-13. 
2G4)    Eccl.   12.   12. 


104  BRUECK    AND   GLAPIOi^. 

not  suffer  such  affairs  to  conduce  to  unity  or  any  other  good. 
"Unless  these  matters  are  treated  in  secret,"  he  said,  "the  devil 
ultimately  will  be  master." 

And  although  he  had  recently  suggested  that  Doctor  Luther 
recant  his  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  he  had  done  that 
with  a  good  intention:  (he  smiled  and  shrugged  his  shoulders) 
as  if  he  meant  to  say  that  he  acted  upon  the  prompting  of  other 
people,  but  did  not  care  to  reveal  anything.  He  added  that  it 
would  be  better  to  recant  or  forswear  error  than  stubbornly  to 
cling  to  it;  still  it  was  not  for  him  to  pass  judgment,  nor  would 
he  do  so. 

For  this  reason,  he  said,  he  had  suggested  to  Count  of 
Nassau  that  other  means  be  tried,  and  he  believed  that  while  the 
matter  was  in  litigation,  no  better  means  could  be  suggested  than 
the  one  he  had  named,  if  the  end  intended,  vi:::.,  the  reformation 
of  the  Church,  was  to  be  achieved.  The  Pope  thinks  that  Doctor 
Luther  has  no  right  nor  reason  to  write  against  him ;  Doctor 
Luther  denies  this ;  each  considers'  his  own  interest.  Accordingly, 
upon  some  convenient  time  godly,  upright,  impartial  men  of 
great  learning  and  justly  commended  for  their  teaching  and  life, 
would  have  to  be  appointed  [to  try  this  case].  The  Pope  must 
not  become  refractory  and  say  that  such  matters  were  none  of 
the  Emperor's  business,  and  each  should  tend  to  his  own  affairs, 
but  must  submit  to  the  finding  and  verdict  of  such  learned, 
honest,  and  unsuspected  men.  Doctor  Luther  must  do  likewise 
and  appear  at  a  convenient  time  and  place  for  a  hearing,  and  the 
commissioners  would  investigate  whether  there  had  been  error  on 
cither  side,  would  weigh  the  arguments  of  each,  and  either 
approve  or  disapprove  them.  Such  oral  communication  would 
accomplish  much  more  than  the  writing  of  so  many  controversial 
l)Ooks,  for  the  living  voice,  he  said,  is  the  living  spirit,  but  a 
writing  is  a  dead  spirit.  But  while  this  controversy  was  pending 
settlement,  neither  side  must  undertake  to  do  anything.  Doctor 
Luther  must  cease  writing  and  give  his  published  writings  in 
custody  to  some  impartial  person.  Likewise  the  Pope  and  his 
nuncios  must  cease  burning  Luther's  books  and  engaging  in  other 
acts,  until  a  decision  had  been  rendered. 

There  was  no  doubt,  he  said,  that  Luther  would  come  off 
victorious  in  many  points ;  for,  being  a  learned  man,  he  had  said 
many  good  things  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  recently  during 
the  death-watch  *for  the  cardinapcs)  ^  bishop  had  said  to  him  : 
"Of  what  use  is  it  to  hear  the  man?     His  books  are  before  the 


265)  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  have  hit  Glapion's  meaning  by  referring 
the  remark  "in  des  Cardinals  Vigilien"  to  the  recent  death-watch  for 
Cardinal   de  Croy. 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  105 

public,  and  he  cannot  deny  them."  To  which  he  had  replied  that 
ihe  would  not  advise  to  refuse  Luther  a  hearing,  because  the 
teachings  published  by  him  were  in  a  certain  sense  true;  therefore 
ihe  must  be  heard. 

Accordingly,  he  requested  that  his  suggestion  be  laid  before 
Your  Grace,  and  that  if  Your  Grace  pleased,  he  be  given  Your 
Grace's  answer  to-day  or,  latest,  early  to-morrow  morning.  He 
would  then  confer  first  with  Chievres  and  next  with  His  Majesty, 
— for  I  told  him  that  it  was  worth  while  for  him  to  do  something 
effectual  in  the  affair, — and  if  the  method  proposed  by  him  were 
deemed  efficient,  it  should  be  acted  upon;  if  otherwise,  another 
method  should  be  proposed.  He  stated,  however,  that  he  was  in 
hope  that  his  suggestion  would  please  His  Majesty,  and  any  other 
action  [against  Luther]  that  was  being  contemplated  would  be 
omitted;  for  he  had  already  told  His  Majesty  that  God  would  put 
the  blame  on  him  and  all  the  princes,  if  they  would  fail  to  liberate 
the  Church  from  the  excessive  abuses  now  prevailing.  He 
stated  furthermore  that  he  had  told  His  Majesty  that  this  man 
[Martin]  had  been  sent  by  God  and  had  received  a  command  to 
curse  men  and  to  be  a  scourge  to  them  on  account  of  their  sins. 

Upon  my  remark  that  a  report  had  come  to  Your  Grace 
that  for  some  time  there  had  been  daily  consultations  regarding^ 
this  affair,  and  that  Your  Grace  hoped  that  no  sudden  decision 
would  be  rendered  by  His  Majesty,  for  His  Majesty  had  always 
spoken  in  a  gracious  and  friendly  manner,  etc.,  he  said  only  this 
much,  that  there  had  been  a  consultation  regarding  this  affair 
some  time  ago,  at  which  he  had  been  present.  The  papal  nuncios 
had  asked  that  His  Majesty  order  Luther's  books  burned  through- 
out Germany,  and  strictly  forbid  their  publication  and  sale ;  after 
that  he  had  had  no  desire  to  be  present  at  these  consultations. 
But  as  far  as  he  knew,  the  Emperor  had  so  far  refused  his  con- 
sent, although  he  was  being  daily  importuned.  These  nuncios, 
he  said,  were  simply  doing  what  they  had  been  ordered  to  do. 
Your  Grace,  however,  need  not  fear  that  Your  Grace's  laudable 
and  virtuous  action  at  the  imperial  election  would  ever  be  for- 
gotten. If  His  Majesty  would  reach  the  fifth  year  of  his  admin- 
istration, it  would  be  apparent  what  he  was  doing  towards 
reforming  the  Church. 

He  advised  once  more  that  Doctor  Martin  do  not  come  to 
Rome,  but  stay  in  Your  Grace's  country.     I  replied,  etc.,  etc.^^''^') 

The   frequently   unfinished   memoranda   of   Brucck   shov.' 

that  all  the  reassuring  words  of  Glapion  were  wasted  on  the 


266)   FNU,    I,    pp.    50-2. 


106  BRUECK   AND   GLAPION. 

wary  Saxon  chancellor,  all  the  more  because  the  confessor 
had  begun  to  qualify  materially  his  suggestion  regarding 
Luther's  recantation  of  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  which  was 
evidently  wormwood  and  gall  to  the  hierarchy.  From  these 
conferences  the  Elector  ultimately  gained  a  better  insight 
into  the  intentions  of  the  papal  party  than  the  latter  gained 
into  his. 

Last  Conference:. 

Brueck  reported  to  the  confessor  that  the  Elector 
acquiesced  in  the  plan  to  submit  Glapion's  method  for  settling 
Luther's  case  to  the  Emperor. 

I  replied :  Although  Your  Grace  had  humbly  requested  His 
Majesty  to  summon  Luther  for  a  hearing,  and  not  to  permit  him 
to  be  overpowered  without  such  a  hearing,  this  had  been  done 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  bringing  the  truth  to  light  whether  Doctor 
Luther  had  erred.  In  no  other  way  had  Your  Grace  espoused 
Luther's  cause,  but  had  always  left,  Luther  to  answer  for  himself. 
Accordingly,  His  Reverence  must  consider  how  awkward  it  would 
be  for  Your  Grace  to  ask  that  methods  and  recommendations 
be  submitted  to  His  Majesty  in  behalf  of  Doctor  Luther.  For 
Your  Grace  had  to  anticipate  that  such  a  proposal,  when  made 
by  him,  would  be  regarded  as  your  pleasure  in  the  affair.  Doctor 
Luther,  no  matter  how  inconvenient  and  burdensome  the  proposal 
might  prove  to  be,  would  not  oppose  it,  but  gladly  suffer  any 
consequences,  and  Your  Grace  would  be  blamed  for  having  been 
the  cause  of  them.  This  blame,  that  Luther's  cause  had  become 
more  precarious  than  it  had  been  before.  Your  Grace  was  un- 
willing to  assume.  But  if  His  Reverence  could  lead  the  delibera- 
tions to  such  a  point  that  the  suggested  method  be  communicated 
to  Martin  Luther,  Your  Grace  would  gladly  help  towards  that 
end  in  every  way  possible,  provided,  however,  that  in  the  mean 
time  nothing  were  done  against  Luther  by  way  of  burning  his 
books  or  in  other  ways. 

The  Father  answered  with  a  deep  sigh  that  God  knew  wliat 
he  had  done  in  this  matter  had  l)ccn  done  with  a  good  intention, 
without  anybody's  prompting,  upon  his  own  initiative,  to  the  end 
that  the  blessed  purpose  so  often  mentioned  by  him  might  not  be 
thwarted,  and  that  the  precious  merchandise  which  Luther  had 
ahnost  brouglit  to  port  for  landing  be  not  scattered.  He  knew  of 
no  person  in  the  world  who  could  give  greater  help  towards  that 
end  than  Your  Grace,  because  Doctor  Luther  was  living  in  Your 
Grace's  country,  in  which — if  his  advice  were  accepted — he  would 


BRUECK    AND   GLAPION.  107 

abide,  and  which  he  should  hy  no  means  leave.  Your  Grace  must 
not  permit  any  person's  opinion  to  influence  you,  but  consider 
only  what  a  God-pleasing  work  you  would  be  doing  if  error  were 
removed  and  a  reformation  were  instituted. 

For  my  amusement  I  said  in  reply:  Reverend  father,  if  all 
the  books  were  collected  and  deposited  with  a  neutral  person,  and 
His  Majesty  would  leave  Germany  and  return  to  Spain,  as  rumor 
has  it  that  he  intends  to  do,  and  His  Holiness  would  then  seize 
the  opportunity  to  issue  an  order  on  his  papal  authority  as 
censor  to  the  person  with  whom  the  books  were  deposited  to 
burn  them  on  a  pile,  declaring  that  this  was  none  of  His  Majesty's 
business,  as  Jerome  Aleander,  the  papal  nuncio,  already  declared 
recently  at  Cologne  in  my  presence  and  that  of  your  Grace's 
commissioners, — what  then  ? 

The  Father  replied :  Such  an  event  must  not  be  anticipated ; 
for  if  His  Majesty  would  consider  the  proposed  plan  convenient, 
His  Holiness,  without  doubt,  would  in  no  way  oppose  it.  But  if 
there  were  any  such  danger,  His  Majesty  could  order  everybody 
who  was  in  possession  of  writings  of  Luther  to  lock  them  away 
in  his  own  house  and  not  permit  them  to  be  circulated.  He 
knew  of  no  better  plan ;  moreover,  all  the  imperial  counselors 
had  been  pleased  with  it. 

Furthermore,  he  said  that  this  affair  could  not  be  settled  by 
writing;  it  would  have  to  come  to  this,  that  Luther  be  heard  by 
intelligent,  honest,  godly  persons,  and  for  this  the  proposed 
plan  provided.  A  member  of  the  Order  of  Preaching  Friars, 
Ambrosius  [Catharinus]  by  name,  had  just  written  against 
Luther,  and  the  Pope  had  these  days  sent  the  book  to  His 
Majesty.  Glapion  said  that  he  had  not  finished  reading  this 
book,  but  he  had  already  noted  nearly  twenty  places  where  the 
author  had  missed  Luther's  scope  and  meaning.  "What  will  he 
have  accomplished,''  he  said,  "when  Luther  gets  to  see  the  book?" 

Next,  he  asked  me  what  the  distance  from  here  to  Witten- 
berg was,  and  how  many  days  were  required  to  make  the  journey. 
I  could  not  but  tell  him  that  Your  Grace  had  consumed  three 
weeks  in  the  journey  from  those  parts  hither.  He  suggested  that 
it  might  be  possible  to  bring  Luther  to  Worms  more  speedily  by 
post  horses.  I  told  him  that  I  could  not  say  anything  as  to  that, 
since  I  had  never  heard  Your  Grace  speak  of  such  a  possibility. 

Then  I  took  my  leave  of  His  Reverence,  who  instructed  me 
again  to  inform  Your  Grace  that  he  remembers  Your  Grace  in 
his  humble  prayers,  as  that  is  all  he  can  do.^CT) 


207)    FNU,   I,  pp.   52-4. 


108  "it  behooves  tHE  ROMAN  PONTIFF/' 

Thus  ended  this  remarkable  series  of  interviews. 
Brueck  at  no  time  during  its  progress  believed  the  profuse 
assurances  of  Glapion  that  he  wished  to  save  Luther,  and 
advised  the  Elector  not  to  enter  upon  the  plan  suggested  by 
the  confessor — an  advice  that  was  in  complete  harmony 
with  the  Elector's  personal  wishes  and  previous  policy. 
Brueck,  however,  had  a  glimpse  during  these  conferences 
of  the  dread  with  which  Rome  viewed  the  possible  escape 
of  Luther  from  Wittenberg  to  some  other  asylum,  and  still 
more  the  possibility  of  his  appearing  at  Worms  for  a  public 
hearing  before  the  Diet. 


12.  "It  Behooves  the  Roman  Pontiff/* 

The  time  which  had  been  allowed  Luther  for  recantation 
after  the  publication  of  the  bull  Bxsurge  Domine  had 
expired  on  November  27.  Rome  now  proceeded  to  drive 
the  last  canonical  nail  into  Luther's  canonical  coffin.  On 
January  4.  152L  there  was  issued  at  Rome  another  bull 
under  the  caption  Condemnation  and  Bxcommnmcat:on  of 
Martin  Luther,  the  Heretic,  and  of  His  Follozvers.  It  began 
with  the  words  Decet  Romannm  Pontificem,  and  is  cited  by 
these  initial  words.     Its  unwieldy  opening  sentence  reads : — 

Bishop  Leo,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  for  perpetual 
remembrance. 

It  behooves  the  Roman  Pontiff,  who  by  virtue  of  the  authority 
given  him  by  God  has  been  appointed  steward  to  assess  penalties, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  according  to  each  one's  desert,  for  the 
purpose  of  checking  the  impious  undertakings  of  perverse  men, 
whose  noxious  will  has  become  engrossed  with  malicious  inten- 
tion to  such  an  extent  that,  setting  aside  the  fear  of  God  and 
treating  with  contempt  canonical  decrees  and  apostolical  orders, 
they  are  not  afraid  to  invent  new  and  false  teachings  and  to 
cause  a  scandalous  schism  in  the  Church  of  God,  or  to  abet,  sup- 
port, and  aid  the  riotous  spirits  who  endeavor  to  rend  our 
Savior's  seamless  coat  and  the  unity  of  the  true  faith — (it 
behooves  the  Roman  Pontiff,  we  say)  to  employ  severity  against 
such  people  and  their  adherents,  lest  the  bark  of  Peter  seem  to  be 
without  pilot  and  helmsman;   also  to  bring  about,  by  increased 


"it  behooves  the  ROMAN  PONTTFF/'  109 

penalties  and  other  means,  that  these  contemners,  who  have  been 
given  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  and  their  adherents,  may  not  by 
false  assertions  and  wily  tricks  deceive  the  poor  people  and  drag 
them  along  into  all  sorts  of  errors  and  perdition,  and,  as  it  were, 
infect  them  with  their  disease;  also,  for  putting  the  condemned  to 
still  greater  shame,  to  show  the  believing  Christians  and  publicly 
to  explain  to  them  to  what  a  fearful  ban  and  punishment  they 
would  be  subjected;  to  the  end  that,  having  been  thus  informed 
and  instructed,  they  may  1)c  ashamed  of  themselves,  become 
contrite,  repent,  and  entirely  shun  the  forbidden  society  and  com- 
munion of  such  excommunicated  and  accursed  persons,  and  refuse 
them  obedience,  and  that  they  may  thus  escape  the  divine  ven- 
geance, and  not  fall  into  the  same  condemnation  with  them. 

The  Pope  now  recapitulates  the  charges  against  Luther 
by  inserting  the  contents  of  the  bull  Bxsiirgc  Dominr,  and 
then  records,  on  the  one  hand,  his  grateful  pastoral  joy  over 
the  burning  of  Luther's  books  in  some  places,  and  over  the 
repentance  of  some  of  the  guilty  persons  who  had  been 
named  with  Luther  in  the  preceding  bull,  and  whom  he  hcs 
now  ordered  absolved  by  his  nuncios  and  restored  to  his 
fatherly  affection ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  his  "great  grief 
and  amazement"  at  the  contumacy  of  impenitent  Luther  and 
of  the  recklessness  of  sundry  persons  of  "great  renown  ami 
dignity"  who  are  following  Luther  and  his  noxious  gang  of 
heretics  and  are  aiding  and  abetting  him  in  his  disobedience 
and  obduracy,  being  unmindful  of  the  apostle's  warning: 
•'A  man  that  is  a  heretic  after  the  first  and  second  admonition 
reject,  knowing  that  he  that  is  such  is  subverted,  and  sinncth, 
being  condemned  of  himself. "-^^)      (§3.) 

These  persons  the  Pope  proceeds  to  curse  and  damn  in 
absentia  cf  ignorantia,  as  it  were.  No  matter  what  their 
names  are,  and  how  elevated  their  station  may  be,  they  are 
to  be  regarded  as  included  in  Luther's  sentence;  for  a  pun- 
ishment they  are  to  be  called  "Lutherans";  they  are  to  be 
treated  as  heretics  and  as  under  the  eternal  malediction  and 
under  all  the  canonical  penalties,  just  as  if  their  names  had 
not  been  individually  and  specifically  recorded  in  this  bull. 
(§4.) 


268)    Titus   3.   10-11. 


110  "it   behooves   the   ROMAN    PONtlFF." 

All  countries,  cities,  castles  (  !),  villages,  and  places  in 
which  Luther  or  any  one  of  his  foUow^ers  may  happen  to 
sojourn  are  declared  unclean  and  under  the  papal  interdict 
for  the  time  of  such  sojourn.  Masses  can  be  said  in  sucn 
places  only  in  certain  excepted  cases,  and  then  only  behind 
closed  doors.  Chapters  and  cloisters  forfeit  their  posses- 
sions if  they  break  this  rule,  and  fail  to  publish  the  papal 
ban  against  Luther  and  his  followers.  All  the  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  canon  law  for  such  publications  must  be 
observed,  c.  g.,  the  publication  must  take  place  on  a  Sunday 
or  festival  day,  when  there  is  a  large  concourse  of  wor- 
shipers at  the  churches;  the  flag  of  the  cross  must  be  dis- 
played, the  bells  tolled,  and  candles  lighted,  extinguished, 
and  thrown  on  the  ground,  etc.     (§§  5-6.) 

The  entire  clergy  of  the  Church,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest  rank,  are  to  cry  out  and  warn  the  people  unceas- 
ingly against  the  Lutheran  heresies,  and  thus  as  "clouds, 
ordained  for  this  purpose  by  God,  drop  spiritual  rain  on 
God's  people."  They  are  to  do  this  in  a  spirit  of  holy 
'courage  and  devotion  to  the  Church,  remembering  that 
"perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,-^^)  and  that  by  the  Pope's 
solicitation  they  shall  obtain  the  victor's  crown  of  honor 
and  abundant  praise  for  their  zeal.     (§§7-9.) 

Inasmuch,  however,  as  it  may  not  be  feasible,  owing  to 
the  present  condition  of  Germany,  duly  to  publish  this  bull, 
it  is  to  be  sufficient  if  the  publication  takes  place  in  some 
localities,  and  copies  of  the  bull  prepared  by  the  nuncios 
are  to  be  as  authentic  as  bulls  issued  directly  from  the 
papal  office  at  Rome.     (§§  10-12.) 

Any  one  who  dares  to  mutilate  the  bull,  or  to  set  at 
naught  any  of  its  injunctions,  falls  under  the  certain  dis- 
pleasure of  Almighty  God  and  of  His  holy  apostles  Peter 
and   Paul.270)      (§  13.) 

One  of  the  persons  involved  in  the  bull  was  Staupitz.  To 
get  peace,  he  had  retired  to   Salzburg.     On   the   same  day 


2G9)    1  John  4,  IS. 
270)    XV,    1704-10. 


"it  behooves  the  roman  i'ontiff."  HI 

that  the   bull    Dccct  Romuiiiim   Pontijiccm    was    issued    at 
Rome,  he  writes  to  Link  at  Nuremberg : — 

To  us  also  has  come  the  roar  of  the  lion  [Leo],  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour. -^i)  For  our  Very  Reverend  Cardinal  [Lang]  has 
been  instructed  to  compel  me  to  state  that  Martin's  opinions  are, 
respectively,  heretical,  erroneous,  and  offensive  to  pious  ears,  and 
to  reject  them  in  the  presence  of  a  notary  and  of  witnesses.  But 
as  I  am  unable  to  recant  and  reject  opinions  which  T  never 
asserted,  and  which  are  not  mine,  I  begged  the  lord  cardinal  to 
have  me  excused.  I  know  not  what  will  happen.  It  would  be 
sufficient  to  have  written  this  to  the  Father  concerning  me,  and 
perhaps  to  one  other.  I  thought  I  was  going  to  enjoy  peace  at 
last,  and  now  this  perplexing  trial  comes  up.  I  am  not  able  to 
fly  with  wings,  as  I  am  not  distinguished  either  for  learning  or 
for  a  holy  life,  and  yet  I  think  it  the  worst  impiety  to  desert  the 
truth.  Therefore  I  shall  take  the  wholesome  cup  and  invoke 
the  name  of  the  Lord.2'^2)  Reverend  father,  pray  give  me 
your  counsel  and  aid.^'J'S)  Martin  has  begun  a  hard  task  and 
acts  with  great  courage,  divinely  inspired ;  I  stammer  and  am  a 
child  needing  milk.  Farewell,  reverend  father,  and  do  not  desert 
me  under  this  dark  star  at  the  back  of  the  world.  My  fellow- 
captives  Mayr2'4)  and  Bessler27f>)  salute  you,  desiring  to  sec  the 
face  of  Your  Reverence,  and  to  drink  wine  together,  which  is 
excellent  at  Salzburg.  They  promise  to  bear  adversity  with  you 
calmly.2'C) 

Poor  Staupitz  !  He  had  gone  in  the  quest  of  peace  by 
running  aw^ay  from  a  duty,  in  other  words,  by  trying  to  run 
away  from  his  conscience.  Many  have  made  the  same 
pathetic  attempt,  not  realizing  that  strife  for  God's  sake  is 
peace,  and  avoiding  such  strife  brings  the  worst  unrest. 
Staupitz  went  down  to  ignominious  defeat  under  the  papal 
threats,  signing  a  declaration  that  he  submitted  to  the 
Pope.     The  two  Xurembcrg  friends  of  Luther,  Pirckiieimer 


2?])    1   Pet.  5,  8. 

272)  Ps.  116,  13. 

273)  After  the  resignation  of  Staupitz,  Link  iiad  I)ec(inic  X'icar  of  tlie 
Augustinian   Order. 

274)  One  of  Staupitz's  oldest  friends  who  had  matriculated  with  hnn 
at  Tuehingtn  1407;  later  Prior  at  Munich;  in  1.508-9  he  went  on  business  of 
the  order   to   Italv.      SC,   1,   437. 

273)  Also  an  old  friend,  who  had  succeeded  Staupitz  as  Prior  at 
^^unich.  Tn  I'jO')  he  made  a  trip  to  Italy,  on  business  of  the  order,  and 
was  forcibly  detained  there  four  years.  Later  Prior  at  Nuremberg,  and 
after  accompanying  Staupitz  to  Salzburg,  Prior  at  Cologne,  where  wc  last 
hear  of  him   in   1529.      Ibid. 

276)    SC,  1,  437. 


112  ^'IT    BEHOOVES    THE   ROMAN    PONTIFF." 

and  Spengler,  did  the  same.  Staupitz's  declaration  was  in 
the  form  of  an  open  letter  that  evinced  a  hard  struggle  on 
the  part  of  the  writer  to  be  non-committal  and  to  effect  a 
compromise.  But  the  declaration  stated  that  Staupitz  bowed 
to  the  judgment  of  the  Pope,  and  it  was  generally  interpreted 
as  a  renunciation  of  Luther's  teaching.  When  Luther, 
through  Link,  heard  of  this  action  of  his  oldest  friend,  he 
wrote  him  February  9: — 

I  was  not  displeased  to  hear  that  you,  too,  are  attacked  by 
Leo,  and  that  you  are  setting  up  the  cross  which  you  have 
preached  so  well  for  an  example  to  the  world.  For  I  could  wish 
that  that  wolf  were  not  satisfied  with  your  declaration,  as  you 
yield  more  to  him  than  is  right.  For  now  that  you  have  declared 
you  will  accept  him  as  your  judge,  he  will  interpret  your  state- 
ment as  a  complete  renunciation  of  me  and  all  my  actions.  There- 
fore Christ,  if  He  loves  you,  will  compel  you  to  revoke  your 
writing,  because  in  this  bull  the  Pope  has  condemned  everything 
that  you  have  heretofore  taught  and  believed  concerning  the 
mercy  of  God. 

Since  you  well  know  this,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  cannot, 
without  offending  Christ,  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  him  whom 
you  see  raging  as  an  adversary  of  Christ,  with  hostile  fury 
against  the  Word  of  Grace.  For  it  behooved  you  to  assert  this 
to  his  face,  and  to  reprove  him  for  his  wickedness.  This  is  not 
the  time  to  be  timid,  but  to  cry  out  when  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  sentenced,  stripped,  and  blasphemed.  Therefore,  as  much  as 
you  exhort  me  to  humility,  I  exhort  you  to  defiance.  There  is  too 
much  humility  with  you,  as  with  me  there  is  too  much  defiance. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  .serious  matter.  We  see  Christ  suffer.  It  was 
proper  heretofore  to  be  silent  and  to  submit,  but  now  that  the 
dearest  Savior,  who  gave  Himself  for  us,  is  made  a  mock  of 
throughout  the  world,  shall  we  not,  I  appeal  to  you,  fight  for 
Him?  Must  we  not  offer  our  necks?  Dear  father,  this  is  a  more 
glorious  danger  than  many  believe ;  for  here  the  Gospel  is 
starting?  on  its  course,  which  says:  "Whosoever  shall  confess 
Me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  confess  before  My  Father."-^''') 
"Whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  Me,  of  him  I  shall  also  be 
ashamed. "-~''^)  I  do  not  care  if  T  pass  for  a  proud  man,  a  miser, 
an  adulterer,  a  murderer,  an  antipapist,  and  one  guilty  of  all 
vices,  if  only  I  am  not  accused  of  wicked  silence  while  the  Lord 
is  suffcriniT  and  says:     "I  looked  on  My  right  hand,  and  beheld, 


277)  Matt.  10,  32. 

278)  Luke  9,  26. 


"it    behooves    the    ROMAN    PONTIFF."  113 

but  there  was  no  man  that  would  know  Mc.  Refuge  failed  Me; 
no  man  cared  for  My  soul."^"^*-^)  For  by  such  a  confession  I  hope 
to  be  absolved  from  all  my  sins.  And  that  is  the  reason  why  I 
have  boldly  raised  my  horns  against  this  Roman  idol  and  the  very 
Antichrist.  The  Word  of  Christ  is  not  a  word  of  peace,  but  of 
war.     But  why  should  a  dunce  try  to  teach  a  sage?^'^^) 

I  am  writing  these  things  to  you  rather  intimately,  because  I 
fear  that  you  will  stand  wavering  between  Christ  and  the  Pope, 
although  you  see  that  they  are  most  bitterly  opposed  to  one 
another.  Let  us  pray  that  the  Lord  Jesus  may  speedily  destroy 
this  son  of  perdition  with  the  breath  of  His  mouth.-^^)  If  you 
will  not  follow  me,  let  me  go  and  be  snatched  up ;  by  the  grace 
of  Christ  I  shall  not  keep  still  before  this  monster  about  his 
monstrous  crimes. 

Truly,  your  submission  has  saddened  me  not  a  little,  and 
shown  me  a  different  Staupitz  from  the  one  who  was  a  herald  of 
grace  and  the  cross.  You  would  not  have  saddened  me  if  you 
had  done  this  before  you  had  knowledge  of  this  bull  and  this 
shame  of  Christ. 

No  doubt,  to  encourage  his  faltering  friend  Luther 
adds : — 

Hutten  and  many  others  write  strongly  for  me,  and  daily 
there  are  songs  composed  which  furnish  small  delight  to  that 
Babylon.  Our  Elector  acts  just  as  constantly  as  prudently  and 
faithfully,  and  at  his  command  I  am  publishing  my  defense  in 
both  languages. -8-)  Philip  sends  you  greetings,  and  prays  for 
more  spirit  for  you.-^^) 

Staupitz's  answer  to  this  letter  is  lost;  we  can  surmise 
its  tenor  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Link  March  5 : — 

I  am  answering  our  Martin,  who,  like  you,  blames  my 
pusillanimity.  As  you  are  to  me  another  Peter  and  Paul,  I 
willingly  acknowledge  my  fault,  although  T  could  make  a  verbal 
defense.  May  He  who  is  Wisdom  give  us  wisdom,  and  He  who 
is  the  Virtue  of  God  give  us  courage,  without  whom  none  are 
strong  or  holy.  We  have  no  news.  We  anxiously  await  what 
will  happen  at  Worms.  The  Very  Reverend  Cardinal  [Lang]  has 
tried  nothing  against  Martin  in  this  diocese  of  Salzburg,  and  we 
hope   thus  to  live  in  peace   until   we   are  stronger   in    faith   and 


279)  Ps.  142,  2. 

280)  "Quid  ego  sus  Mincrvam?" 
28 U    2   Thiss.'  2,   8. 

282)  The  Articles   IVronc/ly  Condemned  by  the  Pope  appeared  m   Latin 
in  January,  and  in  Cicrman  in   March. 

283)  XV,  2424  ff. ;  EB,  3,  83  flf.;   SL,  p.  198  f. 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    OF    CAESAR.  8 


114  ''it    behooves    the   ROMAN   PONTIFF." 

filled  with  the  Gospel,  when  we  shall  play  the  man.  If  news 
comes  from  Wittenberg,  please  communicate  it  to  us.  We  also 
shall  do  what  will  please  you.284) 

F'rom  the  correspondence  of  those  days  we  glean  knowl- 
edge of  other  effects  of  the  bull.  Melanchthon  writes  to 
John  Messrs-''')  at  Breslau  February  20: — 

I  cannot  understand  why  you  are  writing  so  little  to  us  at 
this  time,  unless  you  think  that  you  ought  not  to  do  so  on  ac- 
count of  the  Pope.  If  this  is  true,  Hess,  where  is  your  Chris- 
tian courage?  Where  is  your  old  strength  of  soul?  How  can. 
you,  who  know  that  Luther  stands  for  piety  and  truth,  yet 
hesitate?  Schleupner  has  left  Leipzig  in  fear,  and  is  looking 
for  a  safe  place ;  if  his  example  has  won  you  away  from  us,  I 
shall  be  doubly  angry  with  him.  But  I  hardly  know  whether 
other  reasons  invited  him  to  Leipzig.  Martin  still  lives  and 
flourishes  in  spite  of  the  rage  and  roars  of  Leo,  whom  people 
hitherto  believed  to  be  omnipotent. 

No  one  here  approves  the  bull  of  Eck,  except  those  who 
have  more  regard  for  their  bellies  than  for  the  Gospel.  Cer- 
tainly it  has  brought  us  into  no  danger,  even  if  the  bishops 
are  promulgating  it  and  thundering.  I  wish  that  you  knew  how 
frightened  the  bishops  are  iri  carrying  out  the  commands  of  the 
Pope,  standing,  as  it  were,  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea, 
fearing  on  one  side  the  opinion  of  the  world  and  on  the  other 
the  wrath  of  the  Pope.  The  latter  prevails  with  many  who. 
prefer  to  be  openly  wicked  rather  than  to  seem  too  little  de- 
pendent on  His  Pontifical  Holiness. 

Though  I  doubt  not  that  you  know  what  is  done  at  the 
Diet  of  Worms,  yet  I  will  briefly  relate  the  plans  of  our  ene- 
mies. The  Emperor  is  daily  asked  to  proscribe  Luther,  and 
there  is  a  lively  altercation  over  this  point.  We  shall  perish  if 
the  Papists  are  al)le  to  do  what  their  wrath  suggests.  They 
regret  that  the  furies  of  the  Pope  have  accomplished  so  little, 
and  hope  that  those  of  the  Emperor  will  be  stronger.  So  they 
are  trying  l)y  all  legal  as  well  as  all  illegal  means  to  wrest  such 
a  mandate  from  the  Emperor.  But  I  hope  their  cfi'orts  will  be 
in  vain.  Martin  fears  nothing,  l)ut  would  willingly  lay  down 
his  life  if,  by  doing  so,  he  could  purchase  glory  and  profit  for 


284)  SC,    1,    481. 

285)  John  ITess  of  Nuremberg  (1490-January  5,  1547),  studied  at 
Leipzig  1500-10,  then  at  Wittenberg  till  1513,  when  he  became  secretary  to 
John  Turgo,  I'.ishop  of  P.reslan.  In  1517  he  was  in  Italy;  in  1519  he  was 
ijack  in  Wittenberg.  From  there  he  went  to  Breslau,  where  he  intro- 
duced the  Reformation.  He  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  Caspar  Schwenk- 
feld.  In  1522  he  went  to  Oels,  in  1523  to  Nuremberg,  and  then  back  to 
Breslau,  where  he  remained  the  rest  of  his  life.     SC,  1,  229. 


''it    behooves    the    ROMAN   PONTIFF."  115 

the  Gospel.  Perhaps  3^011  have  read  his  Assertion  against  the 
Bull  of  Leo.  It  is  written  in  German.  .  .  .  Luther  sends  his 
greeting.-^'*) 

Michael  Hunimelberg-*^'^)  writes  to  John  Heckmann^^'*^ 
in  March: — 

Alas,  dear  Heckmann !  Who  fooled  you  by  saying  that  I 
was  a  Lutheran  ?  Whoever  thought  that  I  should  be  baptized 
anew  with  this  name,  which  I  abhor  as  seditious,  was  mistaken. 
For  being  a  Lutheran  involves  one  in  as  much  altercation  as 
being  an  Eckian  in  malice.  These  are  the  names  of  heresies  and 
schisms,  not  of  Christian  charity.  According  to  the  teaching 
of  St.  Paul  I  think  not  a  man,  but  Christ,  is  to  be  regarded,  and 
I  wish  to  bear  His  name  only,  and  to  be  called,  not  a  Lutheran, 
but  a  Christian.  .  .  .  But  I  welcome  and  cherish  whatever  I  find 
good  in  Luther's  books,  not  because  it  is  his,  but  because  it  is 
God's,  from  whom  cometh  down  every  good  gift.^^^)  Nor  does 
it  bother  me  if  he  does  not  please  those  barbarian  theologs,  and 
does  not  agree  with  the  madness  of  the  sycophants.  ...  I  shall 
therefore  expect  the  judgment  of  the  universal  Church,  con- 
vened by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  council.  Whatever  holy  and  pious 
decrees  are  then  made,  I  shall  also  follow.-^^) 

Here  we  have  the  type  of  eclectic  Lutheranism  that 
borrows  -the  name  of  the  great  Reformer  for  parade  pur- 
poses and  on  days  of  sunshine,  but  quickly  crawls  under 
cover  and  cries,  No  kin !  when  a-  cold  breath  of  public 
disfavor  strikes  them.  While  forsaking  Christ's  people, 
these  men  vow  allegiance  to  Christ.    What  a  self-deception  ! 

The  man  for  whom  the  papal  fulminations  and  the  ire 
of  the  Papists  necessitated  the  most  ludicrous  mental  and 
moral  readjustments  was  the  literary  king  of  Europe, 
Erasmus.  ''To  a  powerful  gentleman"  he  writes  from 
Louvain  January  28: — 

I  am  not  sorry  to  hear  that  Luther's  books  are,  as  you 
write,  in  your  hands,  provided  only  that  you  read  them  as  I 
do — gathering  the  good  in  them  and  skipping  the  bad.  ...  I 
have  never  had  anything  to  do  with  Luther,  except  what  com- 


286)    SC,    1,    4GS. 
v287)    Humnielberg    of    Ratisbon    (1487-1527).    studied    at    Paris    1504-11. 
and   at   Rome   1514-17,   his   sptcialty  being     Greek.      Shortly  after   his   return 
to     Ratisbon     he    became    a    teacher,     and    as    such    enjoyed    much     reputa- 
tion   with   the   Humanists.      SC.   1,   271. 

288)  Heckmann    was    a    nu>nk    at    Salmansw<  iler,    an    iiitimnle    friend    of 
Hummelberg.      SC,    1,    500. 

289)  Tames  1,  17. 

290)  SC,   1,   500. 


116  ''it   behooves   the   ROMAN   PONTIFF.'' 

men  Christian  friendship  demanded.  This  is  true,  and  I  have 
often  asserted  it.  I  am  neither  the  author  nor  judge  of  his 
books.  .  .  .  Now  the  bull  has  been  published,  which,  terrible  as 
it  is,  will  not  be  able  to  alienate  the  minds  of  men  from  him.  .  .  . 
You  exhort  me  to  join  Luther,  and  I  would  easily  do  so  if  I 
saw  him  on  the  side  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Not  that  I  say 
that  he  is  not,  or  that  I  am  able  to  condemn  him.  .  .  .291) 

To  Alexander,  the  secretary  of  the  Count  of  Nassau,  he 
writes  March  8: — 

I  do  not  read  Luther's  books,  nor  have  I  anything  in  com- 
mon with  him  more  than  with  any  Christian.  Certainly  I  should 
prefer  him  corrected  rather  than  slain.  And  if  any  poison  has 
infected  the  people,  no  one  can  draw  it  out  again  as  well  as  he 
who  put  it  in.  But  I  do  not  object  if  they  wish  Luther  roasted 
or  boiled ;  the  loss  of  one  man  is  small.  And  yet  we  ought  to 
think  of  the  public  peace.  Would  that  the  crafty  rather  than 
wise  agents  for  this  affair  were  as  prudent  as  they  seem  zealous 
in  the  cause  of  the  Pope !  Certainly  none  hurt  the  Pope's  dig- 
nity more  than  those  who  clamor  hatefully  against  Luther ;  no 
one  commends  him  to  the  people  more  than  they  do.  So 
stupidly  and  tumultuously  is  the  business  conducted  by  certain 
monks,  not  one  of  whom  is  a  good  man !  The  bull  commands 
them  to  preach  against  Luther,  that  is,  to  rebutt  his  opinions  with 
proof  from  Scripture  and  to  teach  better  ones.  But  no  one 
takes  the  pen  to  refute  him,  though  many  desire  it ;  there  is  no 
one  who  argues,  but  all  revile  and  often  lie  about  it.  They  say 
that  he  would  abolish  confession  and  purgatory,  and  that  he 
writes  blasphemy  against  God.  A  certain  Jacobin  at  Antwerp 
said  that  he  had  written  that  Christ  performed  His  miracles  by 
magic.  A  Carmelite  preaching  before  the  King  of  France  said 
that  now  the  antichrist  had  come,  and  that  there  were  four 
harbingers :  some  Franciscan  or  other  in  Italy,-92)  Lefevre 
d'Etaples  in  Francc^!^-"*)   Reuchlin  in  Germany,294)   and  Erasmus 


291)  SC,   1,   448. 

292)  "Savonarola  was  a  Dominican;  but  perhaps  he  is  meant." 
(Smith.) 

293)  Tames  Lefevre,  of  Etaples  in  Picardy,  "the  little  Luther,"  as 
Michclet  called  him  (c.  14.55-1536),  after  studying  in  Italy,  Germany,  and 
Paris,  settled  at  St.  Cermain-des-Pres  (a  church  now  on  the  Boulevard  St. 
Germain  in  Paris)  in  1507  and  devoted  himself  to  Biblical  studies.  In  1,509 
he  published  a  Qintuf'Iex  Psalteriuni,  or  P.salter  in  five  languages,  of  which 
1  utlur  owned  and  annotated  a  copy  (Iiis  notes  in  WK,  T\',  463)  in  1513-16. 
He  published  the  first  complete  translation  of  the  Bible  in  French,  1530. 
In  1521  and  15:23  he  was  attacked  by  the  Sorbonne  for  Lutheranism,  and 
during  Francis's  I  captivity  in  1525  fled  to  Strassburg,  but  later  returned 
and  finished  his  life  at  Paris.     SC,  1,  44. 

294)  John  Reuchlin  (Capnio),  born  at  Pforzheim,  February  22,  14.55, 
died  in  1522.  Known  chiefly  as  a  scholar  of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  which 
plunged  him  into  a  controversy  with  the  monks  at  Cologne.  His  official 
work  was  the   practise  of  law. 


"it    behooves   the    ROMAN   PONTIFF."  117 

in  Brabant.-^^)  At  Bruges  a  Franciscan,  a  suffragan  of  the 
Bishop  of  Tournai,  preached  in  the  church  of  St.  Donatian  a 
whole  hour  against  Luther  and  me  (for  the  monks  have  agreed 
over  their  cups  always  to  join  my  name  with  Luther's,  though 
I  have  nothing  in  common  with  him)  ;  but  instead  of  teaching 
lis,  he  only  called  us  geese,  asses,  beasts,  stocks,  antichrists,  in 
short,  spoke  so  that  the  people  all  thought  him  insane.  .  .  . 

Whatever  Luther  may  deserve,  it  is  certainly  time  for 
Charles  to  think  of  the  peace  of  Christendom.  This  will  be 
done  if  silence  is  imposed  on  both  parties,  and  if  Luther  ceases 
to  write  such  books,  or  rather  takes  out  of  those  that  he  has 
already  written  all  seditious  matter.  Those  who  hunt  for  glory 
in  public  misfortunes  prefer  to  end  the  thing  at  once  by  force; 
would  that  it  were  ended  for  the  glory  of  Christ!  But  no  one 
would  believe  how  deeply  Luther  has  crept  into  the  minds  of 
many  nations,  nor  how  widely  his  books  have  been  translated 
into  every  tongue  and  scattered  everywhere.  People  are  whisper- 
ing about  a  terrific  mandate  of  Charles ;  I  pray  that  whatever 
the  excellent  prince  does  may  be  fortunate  for  the  Christian 
world.  However,  I  fear  that  things  will  not  turn  out  as  some 
think.  Do  you  ask,  dear  Alexander,  why  I  write  this?  Only 
to  prevent  a  pernicious  tumult  which  I  see  is  threatening  unless 
the  princes  prefer  the  interests  of  the  state  to  the  desires  of 
some  men.  I  do  not  plead  Luther's  cause,  nor  do  I  care  how 
he  is  punished ;  I  only  think  of  the  peace  of  the  world.  .  .  .--'^^ 

To  the  fullest  extent  Erasmus  speaks  his  mind  about 
Luther  in  a  letter  of  March  25  to  Aloisius  Marlian.  the 
Bishop  of  Tuy,^'*"^  who  was  attending  the  Diet : — 

I  have  learned  from  the  letters  of  good  friends,  though  I 
know  not  whether  they  wrote  in  pure  affection,  that  new  rumors 
and  suspicions  arc  spread  abroad  here  by  some  secret  detractors 
that  I  favor  Luther,  and  that  evil  books,  I  know  not  which,  are 
attributed  to  me,  of  which  I  hear  that  some  are  published  here, 


29.'))  Desiderius  Erasmus  of  Rotterdam  (October  2S,  UGG-July  13, 
1.536),  attended  school  at  Devinttr  1475-84,  at  Ilcrtogcnbusch  1484-6. 
entered  the  monastery  of  Autjustinians  at  Stein  1480.  professed  1488, 
studied  at  Paris  1495-9.  visited  England  1499-1500,  1505-(i,  and  1509-14; 
Italy  1506-9;  lived  at  Louvain  1514-;?1,  Rasle  1521-8,  Freiburg  in  IJreisgau 
1528-:J5,    when    he    returned    to    Hasle.      SC,    1,    .'".2. 

296)  SC,   1,   494. 

297)  Aloisius  Marlian  of  Milan,  made  Bishop  of  Tuy  1517.  Early  in 
1521  he  published  an  oration  against  Luther.  lie  died  in  the  same  year 
in    September   or    Octr.ber,    SC,    1,    421. 


118  ''it    BEHOOV'ES    the   ROMAN    PONTIFF." 

some  elsewhere.  I  know  that  these  days  are  the  very  kingdom 
of  cahimny,  and  that  at  no  time  has  more  unbridled  vitupera- 
tion been  allowed,  and  yet  wise,  learned,  and  grave  men,  among 
whom  I  consider  you  one  of  the  first,  should  not  allow  any  place 
to  such  accusations.  Your  prudence  first  warned  me,  though  I 
was,  as  they  say,  mindful  of  it  myself,  that  I  should  not  mix  in 
the  Lutheran  afYair,  So  far  was  I  from  mixing  in  it  that  I 
exerted  all  fny  strength  to  keep  the  affair  from  getting  to  that 
point  where  I  should  least  care  to  see  it.  Only  at  first,  before 
I  saw  where  Luther  was  tending,  I  did  not  approve  turbulent 
clamors  among  the  people.  I  advised  that  the  affair  be  treated 
in  learned  books.  I  preferred  to  have  Luther  corrected  rather 
than  crushed,  or  if  he  were  to  be  crushed,  I  preferred  that  it 
should  be  done  without  turning  the  world  upside  down.  Even 
the  Pope  would  have  approved  this  advice,  had  he  known  how 
things  were  done,  and  with  what  zeal  several  nations  would 
follow  Luther.  But  the  rumors  were  the  fabrications  of  cer- 
tain monks,  who  love  me  no  more  than  they  do  sound  learning, 
and  who  were  determined  to  involve  me  willy  nilly  in  the 
Lutheran  affair. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  seemed  to  favor  Luther  tried 
in  every  way  to  draw  me  into  their  party.  Those  who  hated 
Luther  also  tried  to  precipitate  me  into  his  faction,  frequently 
in  public  sermons  raging  against  my  name  more  odiously  than 
they  did  against  Luther  himself.  But  by  no  arts  could  I  be 
moved  from  my  own  purpose.  I  recognize  Christ,  I  do  not  know 
Luther ;  I  recognize  the  Roman  Church,  which,  I  think,  is  not 
different  from  the  Catholic  Church.  Death  shall  not  make  me 
abandon  her,  unless  she  openly  is  abandoned  by  Christ.  I  have 
always  abhorred  sedition;  would  that  Luther  and  all  Germans 
were  of  the  same  mind !  I  see  that  in  many  lands  this  side  of 
the  Alps  there  are  men  who  favor  Luther,  as  it  were,  by  fatality. 
Indeed,  it  is  remarkable  that  as  his  enemies  help  him  most,  so 
he  helps  them,  as  if  they  were  in  a  conspiracy.  For  no  one 
hurts  Luther  more  than  he  does  himself  with  his  new  books, 
each  one  more  odious  than  the  last  previous.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  are  some  who  stir  up  the  people  so  unlearnedly, 
so  foolishly,  and  so  seditiously  that  they  make  themselves  hate- 
ful to  all,  commend  Luther  to  the  affections  of  men,  and  com- 
promise the  cause  of  the  Pope  as  bad  patrons  always  com- 
promise their  clients,  I  praise  those  who  favor  the  Pope,  whom 
every  pious  man  favors.  Who  would  not  favor  him  who  is  the 
first  imitator  of  Christ,  and  who  spends  himself  for  Christian 
salvation?  But  I  wish  he  had  wiser  defenders.  They  hunger 
for  nothing  but  Luther;  nor  is  it  anything  to  me  whether  they 
prefer  him  boiled  or  roasted.     It  is  certain  that  they  confound 


''it    behooves    the   ROMAN   ,roNTlFF."  119 

mc  with  an  affair  from  which  I  am  totally  distinct,  and  that 
they  thus  act  both  wrongly  and  foolishly ;  for  they  would  van- 
quish Luther  sooner  if  they  would  let  me  alone.  Even  in 
Aleander,  a  man  otherwise  kind  and  learned,  I  miss  the  pru- 
dence necessary  for  such  an  affair, — at  least,  if  what  is  written 
and  said  about  him  is  true.  There  was  formerly  a  very  close 
friendship  between  us,^^^)  and  when  he  went  to  France,  I  gave 
him  letters  of  recommendation  and  spoke  of  him  very  highly 
even  in  my  writings ;  I  respected  the  man's  learning,  liked  his 
character,  although  it  was  peculiar,  nor  did  it  seem  that  we  got 
along  together  badly.  He  was  commanded  by  all  means  to  win 
over  those  who  had  formerly  been  of  the  Lutheran  party, — so 
far  was  it  from  the  Pope's  thoughts  to  alienate  those  who  were 
innocent.  But  though  by  nature  not  unkind,  he  used  force  at 
the  instigation  of  certain  men.  He  would  have  approached  the 
Lutheran  affair  better,  had  he  joined  his  advantages  to  mine. 
He  would  have  had  a  helper  in  a  pious  work,  and  one  certainly 
not  adverse  to  the  power  of  the  Pope. 

They  bandy  about  an  impudent  lie,  that  Luther  has  taken 
much  from  my  books.  But  the  very  first  article  of  the  cliarge 
refutes  it.  When  have  I  asserted  that  all  that  we  do  is  sin? 
— not  to  mention  innumerable  other  things,  the  like  of  which 
is  not  found  in  any  of  my  writings,  even  in  the  sportive  ones. 
And  yet  of  old  the  heretics  have  drunk  their  poison  from  the 
gospels  and  apostolic  letters.  I  speak  for  the  moment  as  if  he 
had  really  written  something  heretical  and  had  taken  it  from 
my  books.  It  is  said  that  he  does  not  recognize  certain  of  his 
books :  pcrliaps  he  would  do  well  to  deny  them  all.  But  in 
any  case,  by  whomsoever  the  books  that  pass  under  his  name 
were  written,  there  is  not  in  any  of  them  a  syllable  of  mine ; 
this  T  do  not  hesitate  to  swear  solemnly.  For  many  years  I 
have  respected  your  singular  prudence  and  your  candid  friend- 
ship for  me,  and  your  authority  is  known  to 'all.  Therefore  T 
beg  you  to  defena  my  innocence  against  such  malicious  calum- 
nies. Everything  is  printed,  even  that  which  T  wrote  privately 
to  the  bosom  of  my  friends,  including  some  things  which  were 
perhaps  freer,  according  to  my  natural  inclination,  than  was  al- 
*  ways  expedient.  Even  those  things  which  we  are  accustomed 
to  say  in  our  cups  liavc  been  printed,  and  yet  nothing  is  found 
except  that  T  said  T  would  prefer  Luther  corrected  rather  than 
put  to  death,  while  there  was  yet  hope  that  he  might  devote 
himself  to  better  tliings.299) 


298)  In    Venice,    1508. 

299)  Erasmi  0pp.  Ill,  543;  SC,  1.  500  fT. 


120  ASH    WEDNESDAY    AT   THE   DIET. 

The  Stand  which  leading  men  in  Europe  took,  or  failed 
to  take,  on  the  excommunication  of  Luther,  has  determint^d 
the  course  of  the  Reformation.  These  expressions  of  their 
mind  are  therefore  most  valuable  for  understanding  later 
developments.  However,  they  also  belong  in  the  panorama 
of  Luther  at  Worms.  Against  this  background  the  figure 
of  the  lone  monk,  who  would  not  deny  the  truth  that  Christ 
had  given  him  to  see,  stands  out  strong  and  clear.  Long 
before  Luther  uttered  the  sentiment  that  is  recorded  at  the 
end  of  his  hearing  at  Worms,  he  had  acted  it.  His  unwaver- 
ing courage  stablished  the  hearts  of  thousands  in  those 
days. 


13.  Ash  Wednesday  at  the  Diet. 

The  bull  Deed  Romamim  reached  Aleander  February 
10.  It  fired  the  nuncio's  zeal  to  put  forth  an  effort  greater 
than  any  previous  one  to  obtain  from  the  Emperor  the 
coveted  mandate  against  Luther.  His  success  seemed 
assured  this  time,  because  with  the  bull  the  nuncio  had 
received  two  papal  breves  that  were  to  be  delivered  to  the 
Emperor.  One,  dated  January  16,  declared  that  the  Pope 
had  reversed  his  policy  in  regard  to  the  Spanish  inquisition, 
the  control  of  which  was  now  restored  to  Charles.  The 
Pope  had  calculated  that  by  withdrawing  the  inquisition  from 
the  control  of  the  Spanish  monarch  he  had  not  increased  his 
own  aiuhority  in  Spain,  but  only  that  of  the  Spanish  prel- 
ates to  whom  he  had  assigned  the  direction  of  inquisitorial 
proceedings.  By  restoring  it  to  Charles,  he  hoped  to  make, 
the  Emperor  agreeable  to  the  last  measure  that  was  neces- 
sary for  crushing  Luther.  The  second  breve,  dated  two  days 
later,  was  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  Emperor's  Catholic  con- 
science to  stamp  out  Lutheran  heresy .^^^) 


300)   The   greater   part    of    the    Pope's   breve   to   the    Emperor   is    repro- 
duced  in    SC,   1,    444   f. 


Ash  wednesIday  at  the  diet.  121 

The  Emperor  was  willing  to  accede  to  the  Pope's  wish. 
His  ministers,  however,  reaffirmed  the  position  they  had 
taken  on  December  29,  when  the  Council  of  State  had  virtu- 
ally promised  Aleander  the  mandate  against  Luther.  They 
insisted  that  the  mandate,  before  being  issued,  must  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Diet  for  its  consent.  Aleander  protested  again 
that  Luther's  case  was  res  adjudicata,  and  solemnly  loaded 
Gattinara  with  all  blame  for  the  weakening  of  the  papal 
authority  in  Germany  if  his  plan  were  adopted  and  the  Diet 
were  allowed  to  debate  a  papal  decree.  But  Aleander 
acquiesced  when  it  was  decided  that  he  himself  should  address 
the  Diet  on  February  13  and  wrest  from  its  members  the 
order  against  Luther  which,  the  imperial  counselors  feared, 
would  never  be  obtained  from  them.  This  decision  tickled 
the  vanity  of  the  nuncio  greatly.  It  conjured  up  before  his 
ambitious  mind  a  wonderful  vision  of  himself  as  the  central 
figure  in  the  greatest  assembly  of  potentates  of  Europe.  The 
lords  of  the  earth  were  to  be  wax  in  his  hands,  and  he  would 
deftly  mold  them  to  suit  the  purpose  of  his  master.  At  the 
same  time  he  would  compensate  himself  by  these  few  hours 
of  glory  for  all  the  ill  treatment  and  unconcealed  contempt 
that  had  daily  been  served  him  in  generous  measure  by  these 
titled  German  yokels.  His  fertile  mind  began  to  study  every 
possible  advantage  for  its  psychological  bearings  and  effects; 
the  drama  was  to  open  with  a  startling  surprise,  and  to  men 
tense  with  excitement,  their  critical  temper  being  momen- 
tarily subdued,  the  reverend  dramaturge  planned  to  exhibit 
the  dazzling  feats  of  finished  Roman  oratory  and  diplomacy. 

February  13  was  Ash  Wednesday,  but  sackcloth  and  ashes 
did  not  enter  into  the  regimen  of  the  noble  sons  of  the 
Church  assembled  at  Worms.  A  great  tournament  had  been 
announced  for  the  day,  and  everybody  was  hastening  to  the 
arena.  Preparations  for  the  knightly  bouts  were  in  progress ; 
the  Emperor's  cloth  had  been  spread;  when  suddenly  there 
appeared  a  hurrying  messenger  with  a  summons  to  the 
members  of  the  Diet  to  repair  at  once  to  the  Bischofshof  for 
an  important  session;  for  a  comnumicalion  had  arrived  from 


122  ASH    WEDNESDAY   AT   THE   DIET. 

the  Holy  Father  that  required  immediate  action.  Consterna- 
tion seized  the  assembly,  and  eager  questioning  took  place  as 
to  what  the  hurry  call  might  mean. 

The  Saxon  Elector  promptly  decided  that  he  was  too  ill 
to  attend  this  session,  and  sent  his  Chancellor  Brueck  with  a 
number  of  speedy  writers  as  secretaries  to  act  as  his  repre- 
sentative. He  was  not  going  to  be  taken  by  surprise.  This 
Fabian  policy  was  the  first  check  administered  to  Aleander, 
and  when  he  noticed  it,  he  could  not  conceal  his  chagrin. 
The  nimble  Saxon  secretaries  annoyed  him,  and  he  had  to 
speed*  his  tongue  to  outrace  their  pens. 

Besides  the  protocol  of  the  Diet  we  have  several  accounts 
of  this  session,  one  by  Aleander  himself  in  several  of  his 
letters  and  dispatches,  one  by  Brueck,  and  one  in  the  form 
of  a  correspondence  which  Kalkoff  tentatively  ascribes  to 
the  papal  chamberlain  Antony  della  Sassetta  and  Francis  de 
Pellegrini.  These  accounts  enable  us  to  reconstruct  the 
memorable  scene  and  to  blue-pencil  Aleander's  own  report 
for  logical  and  historical  inaccuracies. 

The  Emperor  had  taken,  his  seat  in  the  crowded  hall, 
when  the  nuncio  arose  and^  handed  a  papal  breve  to  the 
Chancellor  -of  the  Empire,  Archbishop  Albert  of  Mayence, 
who  ordered  the  Abbot  of  Fulda^^^)  to  read  it.  We  know 
its  contents  from  previous  chapters:  it  was  a  rehearsal  of 
Luther's  case  and  a  formal  notice  from  Rome  that  now  the 
time  had  arrived  when  the  secular  power  must  complete 
the  work  of  the  spiritual  authority,  and  finish  Luther.  It 
was  pointed  out  to  the  young  Emperor  that  a  rare  oppor- 
tunity was  offered  him  to  take  his  place  among  his  illustrious 
ancestors,  and  immortalize  his  name  by  wiping  out  heresy. 
The  document  read,  the  Emperor  extended  permission  to 
Aleander  to  speak  in  explanation  and  defense  of  it,  and 
suggest  a  feasible  plan  for  executing  its  terms. 


301;  Ilartniann  von  Kirchberg,  who  is  found  as  Doctor  of  Law 
and  priest  of  the  Nuremberg  diocese  in  1494.  In  1507  he  became  coadjutor 
and  the  abbott  of  Fulda,  from  which  position  he  was  expelled  in  1517  on 
account  of  his  prodigal  rule.  He  was  favored  by  Maximilian;  in  _  -21  he 
received  a  pension  in  return  for  his  abbacy,  and  didd  at  Mayence  in  1529, 
SC,  1,  471. 


ASH    WEDNESDAY    AT   THE   DIET.  123 

With  his  oration  before  the  Emperor  and  the  Empire, 
Aleander's  career  entered  its  zenith.  In  his  own  reports  to 
Rome  he  struts  before  the  reader  like  a  peacock,  and  rightly 
Haiisrath  has  likened  his  oratorical  effort  to  a  wonderful 
flash  of  the  peacock's  spreading  fan.  Pathetic  defamations, 
after  Verrine  and  Catilinarian  models,  nicely  calculated  in- 
discretions, vulgar  jokes  and  anecdotes,  and  serious  issues 
of  national  and  international  politics  were  delivered  in  bewil- 
dering variety,  interlarded  with  mere  gossip  and  bold  refer- 
ences and  tales  involving  persons  in  high  stations.  In  a 
less  dignified  manner  the  serious  question  before  the  Diet 
could  not  have  been  treated.  The  man  who  spoke  on  this 
occasion  to  the  German  princes  was  a  thoroughly  corrupt 
character;  but  he  was  an  accomplished  sophist,  with  a  com- 
plete mastery  of  forms,  and  knew  how  to  manipulate  his 
subject-matter  skilfully  and  modulate  his  voice  so  as  to 
avoid  tedium.  His  invectives  against  Luther  were  framed 
with  the  choicest  rhetorical  arabesques:  the  meanest  things 
he  managed  to  "say  with  flowers."  These  floral  displays 
of  his  genius  were  evidently  of  greater  importance  to  him 
than  his  theological  arguments;  for  these  were  astonishingly 
poor,  and  his  account  of  Luther's  heresy  is  gaping  with 
imperfections.  His  dogmatic  reasoning  is  a  blade  of  lead 
that  only  looks  gay  because  it  is  sheathed  in  a  velvet  and 
embroidered  scabbard.  With  admirable  dexterity  he  brushed 
delicate  questions  with  the  lightness  of  a  swallow's  wing  and 
dodged  critical  points,  never  saying  enough  to  permit  any 
one  to  nail  him  down  to  a  definite  opinion.  Now  he  floated 
a  pretty  flattery  towards  the  Emperor,  now  he  threw  verbal 
bonbons  to  his  patron,  the  Bishop  of  Liege,  now  he  dropped 
an  innuendo  against  the  vSaxon  Elector,  now  he  excited 
the  risibility  of  the  knights  by  a  bit  of  coarse  humor.  Even 
the  indiscretions  which  he  committed  were  all  according  to 
program.  He  wants  all  the  world  to  know  that  in  private 
conversations  he  has  been  persuaded  to  go  ahead  liravely 
by  many  an  influential  person  that  has  afterwards  acted  the 
part  of  an  impartial  judge  in  public— a  thrust  at  Chievres ! 


124  ASH    WEDNESDAY    AT   THE   DIET. 

To  defeat  Luther's  assertion  that  the  permission  to  burn 
his  books  had  been  purchased  by  Aleander  by  means  of 
bribes,  he  appeals  to  Charles  with  magnificent  pathos :  "Most 
invincible  Emperor,  Your  Majesty  knows  the  facts;  I  ask 
you  to  te&tify  for  me  whether  I  bought  the  permission  to 
burn  those  books  for  many  thousands  of  ducats."  It  was 
a  bold  risk  which  Aleander  took  at  this  point.  He  relied  on 
the  patience  and  forbearance  of  Chievres ;  for  he  knew 
how  annoying  his  hasty  actions  in  Flanders  had  been  to  the 
ministers  of  Charles,  and  had  so  reported  to  Rome.  Craftily 
he  touched  upon  a  favorite  subject  of  Charles  when  he 
reminded  him  of  the  staunch  Catholicism  of  his  father 
Philip,  and  when  he  spoke  of  his  famous  ancestor  Charles 
the  Bold,  whose  image  had  filled  the  boyhood  dreams  of  the 
Emperor. 

Adverting  to  an  earlier  assertion  of  Luther  and  his 
friends  that  the  bull  was  counterfeit,  he  unrolled  with  a 
flourish  the  original  document,  and  called  upon  the  Emperor, 
the  princes,  and  the  Estates  to  examine  it.  At  the  same  time 
he  bowed  with  exquisite  reverence  to  his  companion  in 
drink.  Bishop  Eberhard  of  Liege,  and  remarked  that  this 
learned  and  experienced  statesman  had  examined  the  docu- 
ment as  to  its  authenticity  before  permitting  it  to  be  exec- 
uted in  his  diocese.  The  episcopal  toper  nodded  a  solemn 
assent,  and  the  knightly  analphabets  looked  with  awe  at 
the  unfolded  bull.  Nevertheless,  the  nuncio  said  he  had  to 
suffer  himself  to  be  insulted  as  a  counterfeiter  and  decdver, 
and  had  been  unjustly  persecuted.  Some  had  even  slander- 
ously asserted  that  he  was  a  baptized  Jew,  and  this  matter 
seemed  to  him  of  such  moment  that  he  proceeded  on  the 
floor  of  the  imperial  Diet  to  establish  his  pedigree:  he  was 
descended  from  the  Margrave  of  Yserstein  in  Istria,  and 
many  gentlemen  present  could  testify  that  he  had  passed  a 
rigid  genealogical  test  when  he  was  made  a  canon  at  Liege. 
However,  he  did  not  wish  his  present  remarks  to  be  offen- 
sive to  the  godly  Jews  of  Worms.  "Suppose  I  were  a  born 
Jew  and  had  been  baptized,  that  would  give  no  one  a  right 


ASH    VVEUNESUAY    AT    THE    DIET,  125 

to  despise  me;  for  Clirist  and  His  apostles  also  were  born 
Jews." 

With  such  gossip  Aleander  entwined  his  dogmatic  argu- 
ment in  defense  of  the  papal  verdict  against  Luther.  His 
argument  showed  that  he  had  not  concerned  himself  greatly 
about  Luther's  teaching.  He  knew  exactly  which  lackeys 
were  leaning  towards  Luther,  which  clerks  and  chamberlains 
could  be  employed  against  Luther,  but  his  oration  gives  no 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  his  boast  that  he  knew  Luther's 
writings  by  heart.  His  accusations  against  Luther  are 
garbled  statements  from  Luther's  last  treatise  against  the 
bull — the  Asscrtio.  He  was  arbitrary  and  unscrupulous  in 
framing  his  indictment.  He  had  no  inkling  of  the  scope  of 
Luther's  thought.  For  instance,  he  snatched  up  Luther's 
statement  that  all  the  teachings  of  Huss,  two  of  which  he 
had  defended  at  Leipzig,  were  Christian  and  evangelical. 
No  statement  of  Luther  could  have  pleased  Aleander  better ; 
by  means  of  extreme  syllogistic  inferences  he  drew  from  this 
statement  damaging  evidence  against  Luther.  A  glaring 
dishonesty  was  perpetrated  by  the  speaker  when  he  glori- 
fied the  Council  of  Constance.  "What  this  holy  council 
praised  Luther  condemns;  and  what  it  condemned  Luther 
praises."  Now,  the  popes  had  never  manifested  a  great  love 
for  the  decrees  of  this  council  because  of  its  opposition 
to  papal  absolutism.  On  the  latter  question  the  last  Lateran 
Council  had  taken  the  same  position.  Suppressing  these 
facts,  Aleander  argued  that  by  approving  Huss's  teachings, 
which  were  condemned  at  Constance,  Luther  also  approved 
tlie  forty-five  articles  of  Wiclif  which  Huss  had  defended; 
hence  he  denied  the  real  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ 
in  the  Sacrament.  ''Good  God,  what  a  blasphemy  !"  Aleander 
exclaimed,  and  then  took  up  Wiclif's  and  Huss's  articles  one 
by  one  for  further  proof  of  Luther's  blasphemous  teaching 
on  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  on  the  binding  force  of  the 
canon  law  and  of  secular  laws,  on  the  death  penalty,  etc. 
His  laudatory  references  in  this  connection  to  "the  good 
Emperor    Sigismund"   were   a   German   string  on   which   he 


126  ASH    WEDNESDAY   AT   THE   DIET. 

played  a  few  bars  to.  show  the  Germans  that  he  was  guarding 
their  national  honor  which  Luther  had  befouled  by  calling 
Sigismund  a  traitor.  From  Aleander's  lurid  review  Luther 
emerged  a  plain   revolutionary. 

Aleander  did  not  shrink  from  lying  outright;  for  he 
charged  Luther  with  denying  purgatory,  while  in  the  thirty- 
seventh  article  of  the  book  from  which  he  was  quoting 
Luther  said :  "I  have  never  denied  purgatory,  and  have 
declared  so  in  speech  and  writing  many  times."  Luther 
had  merely  denied  the  alleged  Scripture-proof  and  the 
scholastic  arguments  for  purgatory.  Luther's  assertion  that 
the  Greek  Church  had  never  acknowledged  the  supremacy 
of  the  Pope,  Aleander  defeated  by  exhibiting  a  copy  of  the 
decrees  of  the  Council  of  Florence  of  1439,  in  wdiich  the 
Greek  representatives  acknowledge  the  Pope  as  supreme.  He 
said  he  had  found  the  document  "by  accident"  in  the  library 
of  the  Bishop  of  Worms.  He  handed  the  document  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Mayence,  who  examined  it  carefully  and 
passed  it  on  to  the  Archbishop  of  Treves,  who  returned  it 
to  Aleander  with  a  significant  nod.  As  on  the  previous 
occasion  in  the  Council  of  State  where  Aleander  had 
employed  the  same  device,  he  omitted  to  tell  the  assembly 
that  the  Florentine  decrees  had  never  been  ratified  by  the 
Greek  Church,  but  hastened  to  exhibit  a  copy  of  the  Strass- 
burg  edition  of  Luther's  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Cap- 
tivity of  the  Church,  at  the  end  of  which  there  was  a  vignette 
depicting  two  fighting  dogs.  The  two  dogs,  he  said,  repre- 
sented a  mystery  that  would  soon  be  solved:  priests  and 
laymen  would  tear  each  other  to  pieces.  For  had  not  Luther 
stated  in  his  treatise  against  Pricrias  that  the  laymen  would 
be  washing  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  priests?  This  remark 
he  understood  literally,  and  what  Luther  had  written  as  a 
warning  he  proclaimed  as  Luther's,  policy.  He  pictured 
Luther  as  a  person  void  of  reverence  for  holy  things: 
Luther  had  made  a  sneering  remark  about  Dionysius  Areo- 
pagita  and  denounced  saint-worship.  Nobody  need  be  sur- 
prised to   hear   this  heretic  quote    Scripture,   for   the  devil 


ASH    WEDNESDAY   AT  THE   DIET.  127 

could  do  the  same.  Aleander  reminded  his  audience  that  they 
had  heard  this  fact  at  church  in  the  Gospel -lesson  for  the 
past  Sunday.  He  must  not  have  attended  church  that  Sun- 
day and  his  pericopal  knowledge  had  become  mixed ;  for 
the  Gospel-lesson  to  which  he  referred  is  the  one  for  the 
Sunday  after  /Vsh  Wednesday. 

The  original  cause  of  Luther's  controversy  with  Rome, 
indulgences,  Aleander  touched  with  the  brief  remark  that 
Luther  had  "written  unbecomingly"  on  this  subject.  Brueck 
remarks  ironically :  "Aleander  hadt  von  dcr  Indulgericien 
mit  diesen  kiirzen  worten  abgebiesscn/'  In  a  similar  manner 
he  vaulted  across  Luther's  Appeal  to  the  Christian  Nobility, 
which  was  a  great  favorite  among  the  knights.  What 
Luther  had  said  in  this  treatise  regarding  the  universal 
priesthood  of  believers,  Aleander  transferred  to  the  hated 
treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  and  by  means  of  his 
inductive  logic  he  again  drew  the  most  astonishing  infer- 
ences from  garbled  remarks  of  Luther,  Amongst  other 
things  he  inferred  that  Luther  denied  the  consubstantiality 
of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
Pope  would  include  this  heresy  in  his  next  bull  against  here- 
tics.302) 

The  cold-blooded  villainy  that  pervades  the  entire  argu- 
mentation of  Aleander  beggars  description.  Nowhere  did 
he  reveal  any  intimate  knowledge  of  Luther's  doctrinal 
positions;  he  simi)ly  inferred,  deduced,  cried  "Blasphemy!" 
and  looked  about  him  with  the  air  of  a  toreador  after  the 
coup  de  grace.  His  peroration  was  a  reply  to  those  who 
were  counseling  leniency  toward  Luther.  It  became  an 
impassioned  outburst  of  deep  hatred  against  Luther.  It 
would  l)e  sacrilege,  he  said,  to  practise  moderation  against 
such  a  monster  of  wickedness.  By  such  temporizing  the 
Head  of  the  Church  (Leo  X!)  would  be  scandalized,  his 
unquestioned  power  would  be  set  aside,  and  the  Emperor 
would  shame  the  memory  of  his  blessed  predecessors  in  office 


302)   This  was  done  on  Maundy  Thursday  at  the  annual   reading  of  the 
bull  7k  Coena  Domini. 


128  THE   CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL   COUNCIL. 

if  he  failed  to  act  now.  Besides,  Luther,  though  constantly 
appealing  to  a  council  of  the  Church,  would  never  submit  to  a 
decree  of  any  council  that  decided  against  him.^<^^) 


14.  The  Clash  in  the  Electoral  Council. 

Aleander  had  consumed  three  hours^^^)  with  his  address. 
In  the  flush  of  victory  he  reported  to  Rome  that  the  opposi- 
tion had  been  shattered :  he  had  lectured  the  Lutheran 
party  at  the  Diet  like  a  set  of  schoolboys,  and  had  not 
minded  their  scowling  looks;  he  had  delighted  the  Catholic 
party,  and  had  completely  won  the  Emperor's  heart.  His 
speech  had  been  praised,  he  said,  as  a  masterly  effort,  skil- 
fully arranged,  to  the  point,  and  effective,  although  he  would 
call  it  only  mediocre,  because  he  had  been  allowed  only  a 
few  hours  for  preparation.  Still  he  had  been  so  full  of  his 
subject  that  he  could  have  spoken  four  hours  longer.  Medici 
understood  from  this  report  that  his  vain  servant  craved  for 
a  papal  caress,  and  wrote  Aleander  that  his  oration  was 
considered  a  brilliant  success  at  the  Vatican,  and  would  be 
of  extraordinary  service  to  the  cause. 

The  truth  is,  that  Aleander's  oration  was  only  understood 
by  a  small  minority  in  the  Diet, — the  prelates, — for  he  spoke 
Latin,  which  the  majority  of  the  German  princes  did  not 
understand.  Fuerstcnberg,  the  representative  of  the  city  of 
Frankfort,  asked  a  member  of  the  Diet  what  it  had  all  been 
about,  and  was  told :  "Oh,  there  was  a  very  long  apostolic 
breve  read  and  an  admonition  regarding  Luther  delivered." 
Cochlaeus  reports  that  there  had  been  an  incredulous  shaking 
of  heads  at  the  assertions  which  Aleander  made  on  the  basis 
of  Luther's  Babylonian  Captivity.  The  absence  of  the  Saxon 
Elector  and  the  presence  of  his  stenographic  reporters  had 
so  irritated  Aleander  that  he  spoke  in   plain   terms  of  dis- 


KDA,   pp.   57-GO;    HAL,   pp. 


303)  FNU,    I,   pp.    30-35;    BAL,   pp.    60-63; 
123-137;    SC,   1,    462   ff;   467,   470. 

304)  So  he  writes  to   Medici;   in   a  letter  to  Eck,  a  few  days  later,   he 
reduces   the   claim    to   two   hours. 


THE    CLASH    IM    THE    F.LECTORAI,    COUNCIL.  129 

respect  of  the  Elector,  saying  tluit  at  Cologne  the  h'lector 
had  feigned  illness  to  avoid  discussion,  and  had  returned 
vague  replies  to  his  questions.  On  Brueck's  report  the 
Elector  lodged  a  complaint  against  Aleander  for  unbecoming 
conduct.  When  the  report  of  this  indiscretion  on  the  part 
of  its  agent  reached  the  Curia,  and  Aleander  was  asked  for 
an  explanation,  he  denied  it  and  said:  "True,  if  the  Elector 
had  been  present,  I  should  have  pinched  him  a  little,  of 
course,  with  all  modesty  and  due  observance  of  the  proprie- 
ties; for  we  may  not  hope  any  longer  to  win  him  over  bv 
kind  addresses,"  whicli  means  that  even  four  hundred  vears 
ago  when  a  bluff  was  called,  men  considered  a  lie  a  safe 
way  of  escape. 

On  the  day  after  Aleander's  oration  the  Emperor  com- 
municated to  the  princes  that  he  wished  to  issue  a  mandate 
against  Luther.  The  mandate  was  submitted  to  the  Estates 
on  February  15.  This  is  the  mandate  which  Archbishop 
Albert  had  been  directed  to  prepare  December  29.  and  which 
he  had  delayed  so  long  that  upon  the  constant  urging  of 
Aleander  a  special  commission  had  been  appointed  to  draw 
up  the  document.  The  commission  consisted  of  the  Cardinal 
of  Sitten,'^^-"*)  the  Archbishop  of  Trieste,-'^^*'>  the  imperial 
counselor  Banisius,  Archbishop  Lang  of  Salzburg  (Cardinal 
Gurk,  and  two  German  counselors.  The  work  of  this  com- 
mission was  delayed  i)rincipally  ])y  the  duplicity  of  Cardinal 
Gurk),  and  the  delay  was  only  terminated  by  the  per.sonal 
interposition,  on  February  3.  of  the  Emperor  himself.  The 
story  is  told  in  a  letter  of  Raphael  de'  Medici"'^'')  to  Cardinal 
Julius  de'  Medici,  dated  February  6  and  7  : — 

Since  the  preparation  of  a  mandate  against  Luther  has  been 
assigned  [to  the  gentlemen  aforementioned  1,  everything  has  gone 
fine.  But  when  the  Cardinal  of  Gurk  ordered  the  Cardinal  of 
Sitten  not  to  consider  the  mandate  without  consulting  two  other 


1^05)  This  is  the  cardinal  wlio  sold  his  .Swiss  countiymen  to  the  Tope 
as  cannon-fodder  for  the   Pope's  campaigns  in   Northern    Italy. 

.S06)  Peter  Bonomo.  Bishop  of  Trieste  ir)02-4fi,  a  Humanist  and  a 
capable  officer,  SC,  1,  419.  . 

307)  Raphael  de'  Medici,  chamberlain  of  T,eo  \.  was  nuncio  to  Charles 
\',  i:>ir.-7,  and  from  August,  IT.IO.  lo  April,  ir.21.     He  died  ir.23. 

DAT,    TRIBUNAL    OF    CAESAR.  9 


130  THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL   COUNCIL. 

German  counselors,  the  Cardinal  of  Sion  [Sitten]  became  angry, 
for  at  every  session  for  the  last  three  days  they  have  sent  to 
get  the  others  without  being  able  to  find  them.  Tlie  Cardinal 
of  Gurk  was  responsible  for  this,  desiring,  in  order  to  please 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  to  put  off  the  mandate.  The  Cardinal 
of  Sion  was  certain  that  he  [Cardinal  Lang]  had  arranged  that 
the  counselors  should  not  be  found  at  home.  The  Count 
Camillo  of  Gambara  told  me  that  at  the  table  of  the  Cardinal 
of  Gurk,  in  his  presence,  they  had  spoken  evil  of  His  Holiness, 
but  he  did  not  tell  me  what  they  said. 

Four  days  ago  the  King  held  a  council  of  state  four  hours 
long  on  the  preparation  of  the  mandate.  The  counselors,  on 
giving  their  opinion  on  it,  generally  spoke  German.  When  they 
had  finished,  the  King  said :  "Do  you  believe  I  did  not  under- 
stand you  ?  You  said  so  and  so ;  this  displeases  me  for  such 
and  such  reasons,  and  that,  for  other  reasons,  has  my  assent." 
Every  one  wondered  at  that ;  and  thus  the  mandate  was  at 
once  drawn  up  in  the  best  form  and  translated  into  German. 
Jerome  Aleander  will  have  it  printed  and  sent  everywhere.  The 
King  has  acted  splendidly,  but  many  of  these  princes  say  that 
a  council  must  pronounce  on  these  matters,  and  the  whole 
people  declare  that  this  council  will  take  place,  and  that  they 
will  not  pay  any  more  annates.  .  .  .^^S) 

The  mandate  had  been  drawn  up  by  Aleander,  and,  nat- 
urally, was  couched  in  the  severest  terms.  Basing  on  the 
fact  that  the  Pope  had  condemned  Luther  as  a  manifest 
and  contumacious  heretic,  the  document  declared  that  His 
Imperial  Majesty  herewith  orders  that  the  sale,  reading, 
hearing,  and  the  describing  of  Luther's  books  must  be  stopped, 
that  the  books  be  publicly  burned  and  utterly  destroyed, 
to  prevent  bloodshed  and  the  overthrow  of  the  spiritual  and 
the  secular  powers,  that  the  papal  commissaries  appointed 
to  execute  the  Pope's  decree  be  given  every  aid  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties,  and  that  Luther  be  placed  in  prison 
and  kept  there  pending  the  Emperor's  decision.  All  the 
adherents,  followers,  patrons,  and  supporters  of  Luther,  no 
matter  what  their  rank,  station,  or  character  may  be,  are 
to  receive  a  similar  treatment :  they  are  to  be  stripped  of 
their  titles,  dignities,  franchises,  liberties,  and  possessions. 
Any  disregard  of  this  order  is  denounced  as  the  crime  of 


308)    SC,   ],    452   ff. 


THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL    COUNCIL.  131 

Icsc   majesty,  exposing-  tlie  olYeiidcr   to  outlawry.     '"Wlicrc- 
Linto  all  and  sundry  take  heed  !"^oo) 

This  mandate  represents  tiic  fruit  of  eight  months  of 
incessant  diplomatic  labor  on  tiie  part  of  Aleander.  Its 
final  acceptation  by  the  Emperor  was  the  joint  triumph  of 
Glapion  and  Aleander  over  the  reluctant  ministers  of 
Charles,  who  had  always  shown  themselves  adverse  to  this 
measure.  When  the  mandate  was  submitted  to  the  Estates, 
all  present  felt  that  it  meant  the  immediate  outbreak  of 
religious  war  in  Germany.  IMiat  was  the  exact  point  towards 
which  the  policy  of  Rome  (Rule  or  Ruin!)  was  steering. 
Inierstenberg,  in  his  report  to  the  city  of  Frankfort,  breaks 
forth  in  this  wail :  "What  will  come  of  this  nobody  knows. 
Cod  grant  that  in  this  matter  and  others  wise  counsel  will 
prevail.     Alas  !  there  is  need  of  it." 

The  Estates,  how^ever,  did  not  take  such  a  tragic  view 
of  the  matter.  They  debated  the  imperial  proposition  coolly, 
and  nonchalantly  declared  that  they  w^ould  take  the  imperial 
suggestion  "under  consideration.''  The  Elector  still  being 
indisposed,  and  having  expressed  a  desire  to  be  present  at 
the  deliberations  on  the  mandate,  the  Emperor  had  to  grant 
a  postponement  of  four  days.  This  happened  on  Friday.  On 
Monday  and  Tuesday,  February  18  and  19,  the  ugly  business 
was  threshed  out  in  the  Electoral  Council,  and  culminated 
in  a  terrifiic  clash  between  Hohenzollern-Rrandenburg  on  the 
one  hand,  and  Saxony  and  the  Prince  Palatine  on  the  other. 
Elector  Joachim  took  up  the  cause  of  Rome.  Well  versed 
in  Latin  and  German,  he  was  an  able  speaker,  and  he  was 
al)ly  seconded  by  his  brother,  the  Archbishop  of  Mayencc. 
and  the  two  Archbishops  of  Treves  and  Cologne.  To  their 
powerful  pleading  Fuerstenberg  refers  wdicn  he  says  in  his 
report  to  Frankfort :  "Martin  Luther's  case  was  discussed 
last  Friday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday.  The  monk  causes  much 
worrv.  One  partv  would  like  to  nail  him  to  the  cross:  T 
fear  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  escape  them."     P.ut  the  glib- 


U09)   FNU,    I,   pp-   54-56. 


132  THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL    COUNCIL. 

tongued  Hohenzollern  found  a  match  in  Elector  Frederick. 
With  a  massive  array  of  arguments  prepared  for  him  by 
Brueck,  the  Saxon  depicted  the  state  of  mind  in  Germany 
at  the  time,  and  the  Roman  misrule  which  had  scandalized 
the  nation.  What  he  rehearsed  was  the  common  knowledge 
of  all  the  magnates  present:  the  publication  of  the  man- 
date meant  the  unleashing  of  the  dogs  of  war.  He  spoke 
calmly  and  without  the  least  oratorical  effort;  by  the  simple 
force  of  his  facts  he  crushed  the  Hohenzollern's  plea. 
Beneath  the  calm  surface  of  his  delivery,  however,  there 
was  much  pent-up  anger  at  the  anti-Saxon  policy  pursued  for 
many  years  by  the  grasping  Brandenburgers.  Joachim  was 
undaunted;  he  strictly  upheld  the  papal  position,  and  Aleander 
gloated  over  him.  The  debate  became  so  passionate  that  the 
two  Electors  were  about  to  come  to  blows,  wlien  Archbishop 
Lang  threw  himself  between  them.  The  Prince  Palatine, 
Louis  V,  backed  Elector  Frederi^ck.  The  Palatine  prince  A^ac 
a  taciturn,  melancholy  person;  he  seemed  stupid,  and  indif- 
ferent to  what  w^as  going  on  about  him.  But  on  this  occasion 
he  burst  forth  against  the  Brandenburgers  in  an  appalling  fit 
of  rage.  Aleander  reported  to  Rome  that  he  had  "bellowed 
cojiic  died  tori"  (like  ten  bulls),  and  that  both  men  had 
reached  for  their  daggers.  Such  a  scene  had  never  been 
witnessed  in  the  Electoral  Council.  The  nuncio  was  so  awed 
by  the  reports  which  his  messengers  brought  him  about  these 
elemental  brain  tornadoes  of  German  potentates  that  he 
expressed  the  fear  of  grave  complications  arising  from  these 
clashes.  When  the  papal  misrule  in  Germany  was  taken 
up  for  discussion,  and  Duke  George,  a  devout  Catholic, 
became  the  chief  spokesman  of  the  opposition  to  Rome  on 
this  score,  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg  ostentatiously  left 
the  meeting.  During  these  debates  the  terms  of  the  man- 
date were  considerably  toned  down  and  some  of  its  Alean- 
drian  fangs  were  drawn.  Still,  when  it  was  finally  voted  on 
and  a  majority  of  votes  was  polled  for  it,  Electors  Frederick 
and  Louis  V  arose  and  left  the  meeting,  loudly  voicing  their 
protests. 


THE    CLASH    UNT    Tilt)    KLECTUKAL    COUNCIL.  133 

Equally  agitated  and  turbulent  scenes  were  enacted  in  the 
other  branches  of  the  Diet.  The  first  week  in  Lent,  that 
season  of  quiet  introspection  for  devout  churclmien,  had 
become  a  week  of  unbridled  passion  and  fury.  With  trem- 
bling amazement  Aleander  watched  the  titanic  battling  of 
spirits  that  he  had  summoned,  and  for  wlioni  he  had  no 
binding  spell.  Observing  his  fear,  some  of  his  Catholic 
friends,  like  the  Cardinal  of  Sion,  played  cruel  practical 
jokes  on  him  during  these  weeks.  The  Estates,  at  their 
session  on  February  19,  voted  an  answer  to  the  proposal  of 
the  Electors,  the  gist  of  which  was  that  it  was  inopportune  in 
the  present  agitated  condition  of  Germany  to  employ  violent 
measures  against  Luther,  who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  common 
people,  had  a  just  cause  against  Rome.  Rather  should  he 
be  asked  to  state  whether  or  not  he  accepted  the  holy 
Christian  faith  as  held  for  generations  by  the  Germans,  and 
if  he  would  abide  by  it.  If  he  had  written  anything  contrary 
to  this  faith,  he  ought  to  recant,  and  in  that  event  the 
Estates  held  that  it  would  be  only  fair  to  hear  him  in  regard 
to  his  grievances,  and  to  render  a  just  decision  on  thcm.'^^'^'' 

What  happened  next,  and  the  entire  situation  that  had 
now  arisen  in  the  Diet,  is  fully  reflected  in  Aleander's  report 
to  the  Medici  of  February  27 : — 

As  I  previously  reported  to  Your  Lordship,  notwithstanding 
our  strenuous  endeavor  to  prevent  Luther's  affairs  coming  be- 
fore the  Diet,  the  undisguised,  senseless  partiality  for  Luther 
on  the  part  of  the  princes,  or  rather  the  insane,  detestable  sug- 
gestions of  Satan  which  he  has  put  into  the  heads  of  all  Ger- 
mans, have  won  the  Emperor  for  this  course.  This  was  even 
recommended  by  his  Privy  Council,  who  want  to  please  both 
God  and  the  world,  and  yet  act  so  as  to  draw  upon  themselves 
the  displeasure  of  both.  They  allege  that  this  conflagration  wilf 
be  more  easily  dealt  with  if  the  edicts  of  the  Emperor  arc  pro- 
mulj^ated  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  princes.  We  pointed 
out  the  danger  that  the  princes  would  have  an  opinion  different 
from  the  Emperor's,  whose  hands  would  then  be  bound,  and 
that  it  would  be  the  safest  thing  simply  to  carry  out  by  execu- 
tive  power   the   judgment   given   by   the    Pope    in    spiritual   mat- 


310)  FNU,  I,  pp.  57  f. 


134  THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL    COUNCIL. 

ters.  The  Emperor  both  could  and  should  do  that  in  the  Em- 
pire, as  he  had  already  done  in  his  hereditary  lands,  Burgundy 
and  Flanders.  The  majority,  almost  the  entire  German  Council, 
agreed  to  this ;  but  the  Chancellor  [Gattinara]  replied  that  the 
Emperor  would  guard  the  freedom  of  his  action  ;Sii)  His 
Majesty  would  simply,  when  I  made  my  proposal  in  the  name 
of  the  Pope,  announce  that  he  had  already,  on  the  mature  ad- 
vice of  all  his  peoples,  promulgated  a  decree  against  Luther 
and  his  books,  which  had  taken  effect  in  his  hereditary  dominions 
and  kingdoms,  and  would  do  so  in  the  Empire  when  promul- 
gated with  the  knowledge  of  the  princes,  but  not  by  their  ad- 
vice and  consent.  The  Chancellor  and  all  the  privy  counselors 
declared  further  that  even  if  the  princes  raised  obstacles,  the 
Emperor  would  none  the  less  proceed  in  this  manner.  As  yet, 
however,  it  has  not  been  done.  For,  although  on  the  same  day 
on  which  I  made  my  demand  [February  13]  the  Emperor  an- 
nounced his  pleasure,  and  the  day  after,  at  the  assembly  of  the 
princes,  again  expressed  his  will  by  one  of  his  counselors,  yet 
the  princes  debated  a  whole  week  so  fiercely.  .  .  .  The  College 
of  Electors  in  their  own  chamber  were  divided,  as  I  am  in- 
formed, the  three  archbishops  and  the  Margrave  of  Branden- 
burg being  of  one  opinion,  which,  however,  did  not  entirely 
agree  with  ours.  The  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Elector  Pala- 
tine, who  are  both  extremely  obstinate,  conducted  themselves 
so  senselessly  that  they  left  the  session  under  loud  protest, 
although  they  are  bound  to  abide  peaceably  by  the  decision  of 
the  majority  of  their  colleagues. 

The  four  electors  announced  their  opinion  [on  February  19] 
by  the  mouth  of  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  who  is  a  master 
of  both  German  and  Latin.  Many  members  of  the  chamber 
of  princes  agreed  with  them,  shortly  after  which  the  other  two 
electors  announced  that  they  would  submit  to  the  majority  of 
their  colleagues  as  they  were  legally  bound  to  do.  Because, 
however,  of  the  great  differences  of  the  original  opinions  and 
because  of  the  intrigues  of  the  Saxon,  the  whole  decision,  which 
should  have  been  in  our  favor,  turned  out  so  crazily  that  it 
agreed   neither   with    the   views   of   the   Elector   of    Saxony   nor 


311)  A  note  which  Aleander  sent  to  Gattinara  at  this  time  expresses 
the  same  view:  "Although  I  surmised  that,  if  this  matter  were  laid  before 
the  Diet,  the  princes  and  Estates  would  decline  the  proposition  of  the 
Emperor,  or  would  postpone  action,  as  one  of  the  leading  princes  told  me 
they  would,  still  I  am  confident  that  such  a  wise  statesman  as  the  ciian- 
cellor  of  Charles  will  not  permit  the  position  of  his  master,  which  is 
elevated  far  above  any  vote  of  the  Diet,  to  become  shaken,  and  the  Pope,  or, 
I  should  rather  say,  the  pure  faith  of  the  Christian  Church,  to  be  cur- 
tailed. This  I  would  urgently  commend  to  the  serious  consideration  of 
Your  Magnificence."     BAL,  p.   65   f.;   KDA,  p.  65. 


THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL   COUNCIL.  135 

with  the  previous  proposals,  so  favorable  to  us,  of  the  four 
electors. 

As  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  four  articles  on  which  the  whole 
Diet  finally  agreed  were  tendered  to  the  Emperor  in  German. 

First,  they  thanked  him  for  not  promulgating,  as  he  well 
might  have  done,  an  edict  on  his  own  authority,  but  that,  by 
guarding  the  rights  of  the  Empire,  he  liad  put  himself  in  tourh 
with  them. 

Secondly,  tlicy  warned  him  by  no  means  to  issue  the  edict 
we  desired,  as  it  would  raise  a  storm  of  protest  and  give  the 
people  the  excuse  they  wanted  to  rebel.  The  Emperor  had 
shown  prudence  in  having  requested  their  opinion,  for  other- 
wise they  would  have  seen  a  great  conflagration  in  Germany. 
Thus  they  asserted  their  right  of  being  consulted  in  this  matter, 
although  the  Chancellor — God  forgive  him  ! — had  promised  that 
this  should  not  be. 

Thirdly,  they  declared  it  necessary  that  before  the  pro- 
mulgation of  an  edict  Martin  should  be  summoned  under  safe- 
conduct  in  order  to  ask  him  whether  he  had  written  these 
books,  and  to  demand  an  immediate  recantation  of  the  articles 
touching  the  faith  and  the  Sacraments.  In  case  he  refused,  he 
should  be  considered  heretic,  and  proceeded  against  as  such  after 
he  had  returned  home  from  the  Diet,  as  soon  as  he  could  be 
caught.  All  the  princes  would  stake  life  and  land  on  that.  But 
these  German  princes  gave  the  fine  advice  that  he  should  be 
heard  by  imperial  judges  in  a  public  debate  on  the  articles  con- 
cerning the  power  of  the  Pope  and  positive  laws  [of  the  Ger- 
man nation],  only  after  which  the  edict  could  be  issued.  In 
this  again  can  be  seen  the  secret  plan  of  the  Saxon,  who  desires 
to  draw  the  matter  out.  Many  of  the  other  princes  may  per- 
haps sincerely  have  held  this  bad  decision  to  be  the  best;  they 
do  evil  not  from  wickedness,  but  from  short-sightedness.  At 
the  same  time  they  keep  on  saying  that  they  leave  it  all  to  His 
Imperial  Majesty,  and  only  warn  him  against  the  great  indigna- 
tion which  the  promulgation  of  an  edict  contrary  to  their  ad- 
vice would  excite  in  the  Empire. 

iMually.  they  prayed  the  Emperor  to  free  them  from  the 
tyranny  of  Rome ;  taking  this  occasion  to  pour  out  all  their 
wrath  against  us  in  a  worse  manner  than  T  can  say. 

After  the  Emperor  had  had  their  decision  translated  into 
French,  he  wisely  answered  that  the  grievances  against  the 
Roman  Curia  must  not  be  confounded  with  Luther's  cau.se, 
that  is,  with  a  question  of  the  faith,  and  that  he  would  write 
to  the  Pope  in  hopes  that  His  Holiness  would  remedy  such 
abuses  as  were  really  as  represented. 


136  THE    CLASH    IN    THE    ELECTORAL   COUNCIL, 

The  Emperor  declared  that  under  no  circumstances  \vould 
he  allow  a  debate  on  the  authority  of  the  Pope  and  the  Canon 
Law,  but  that,  if  Luther  should  come,  he  was  only  to  be  asked 
whether  he  had  written  the  books,  and,  if  he  confessed  that, 
whether  he  would  maintain  and  defend  what  he  had  written 
contrary  to  the  faith,  the  laws,  and  customs  "which  our  fathers 
have  in  all  points  observed  unto  the  present  day."  If  Luther 
would  recant,  he,  the  Emperor,  would  take  it  upon  himself  to 
get  papal  absolution  for  him;  but  if  he  obstinately  adhered  to 
his  heresy,  he  was  to  be  seized  and  punished  as  a  heretic  as 
soon  as  he  had  returned  under  safe-conduct  to  the  place  from 
which  he  had  set  out. 

Thereupon  he  summoned  the  counselors  of  all  his  nations 
together,  and  talked  with  them  until  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
We  awaited  the  announcement  of  their  decision,  but  they  did 
not  reach  an  agreement  because  of  the  differences  of  opinion 
of  the  counselors,  some  of  whom  are  secretly  getting  pensions 
from  the  Saxon  Elector.  Finally,  the  Emperor  appointed  a  com- 
mission of  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Salzburg,  Sion, 
Trieste,  Palencia,''^^)  Tuy,  the  confessor  [Glapion],  and  three 
doctors.  They  were  to  seek  the  way  to  satisfy  God  and  the 
Pope,  to  guard  the  honor  and  duty  of  the  Emperor,  to  pacify 
the  princes,  and  quiet  the  people — if  they  could  l^^^) 

The  closing  remarks  in  this  letter  are  ironical  and  show 
the  depths  of  the  corruption  in  Aleander's  heart.  To  satisfy 
(jod  and  the  Pope  is  impossible,  therefore — down  with  God  ! 
The  session  of  the  Council  of  State  at  which  the  decision 
was  reached  to  ap])oint  a  new  conuiiission  took  place  upon 
a  hurried  call  of  the  Emperor  immediately  upon  receipt  of 
the  answers  from  the  Diet :  the  four  electors  who  had  voted 
for  issuing  the  mandate  reported  their  action,  the  majority 
came  to  declare  its  dissent,  and  the  other  estates  communicated 
their  answer  by  messenger.  The  Council  was  com])osed  of 
the  leading  ])rinces  from  all  of  the  Emperor's  domains.  Its 
deliberations  led  to  nothing  but  the  appointment  of  a  new 
commission.     Alcander  had  been  checked  again. 


.312)    Peter   Ruiz   de   la   Mota,    Grand   Almoner   of   Charles    V.      He   died 
.lf>22. 

313)   BAL,  p.  68  ff.;  KDA,  p.  64  f.;  SC,  1,  473  ff. 


THE  DIET    SAYS   LUTIIEK   SHALL  COMe!  137 

15.  The  Diet  Says  Luther  Shall  Come! 

In  their  reply  to  the  Emperor's  nianchite  tlie  nienihers 
of  the  Diet  had  made  three  points  plain:  1)  that  they 
would  not  consent  to  the  publication  of  the  mandate;  2)  that 
IvUther  must  l)e  given  a  fair  hearing;  3)  that  the  causes 
upon  which  the  grievances  of  the  Germans  against  papal 
misrule  in  their  country  were  based,  must  be  removed.  These 
three  issues  were  to  be  dealt  with  separately  as  follows:  The 
new  connnission.  appointed  February  19,  was  to  discuss  the 
mandate  and  the  citation  of  Luther.  x'Meander  established 
connection  with  this  commission  through  Cardinal  Lang. 
However,  he  found  the  Cardinal  vacillating;  he  reports  to 
Medici  February  27  : — 

The  Archbishop  of  Salzburg  especially  declared  to  us  that 
he  was  not  in  favor  of  summoning  Luther ;  however,  since  all 
the  princes  and  estates  would  have  it  so,  he  saw  no  other  pos- 
sibility of  a  favorable  outcome.  At  the  same  time  he  wished  to 
obtain  our  view.'^i^) 

We  replied  that  in  accordance  with  our  commission  we  could 
not  and  must  not  permit  a  matter  decided  by  the  decrees  of  the 
old  councils  and  the  sentence  of  the  living  Pope  to  be  taken 
up  again  for  discussion.  Moreover,  we  referred  to  the  scandal 
which  might  be  created  in  the  Christian  Church  by  a  citation 
'of  Luther,  and,  amongst  other  things,  we  also  pointed  out  that, 
when  the  Emperor  saw  the  writings  of  Luther,  which  in  the 
judgment  of  all  men  are  really  abominable,  condemned  by  the 
Pope,  the  only  competent  judge  in  this  matter,  it  was  his  duty 
publicly  to  brand  them  as  such,  and  to  deal  with  Luther  ac- 
cording to  the  statutes  and  laws.  If  from  fear  of  the  people 
he  departed  from  the  regular  process,  he  might  seek  other  ways 
and  means,  such  as  seemed  best  to  him,  but  he  must  not  in- 
fringe upon  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See,  and  with  all  his 
good  intentions  only  make  the  matter  worse.  Accordingly,  we 
are  all  in  such  a  labyrinth  this  time  that,  verily,  we  do  not 
know  whether  to  go  ahead  or  not:  for  if  Martin  comes,  we  may 
(*xpcct  the  worst. 

Thus,  when  we  insist  that  he  must  not  be  summoned,  since, 
by  doing  so.  the  imperialists  would  fail  in  their  duty  towards 
the    Church,    they    always    object    to   us    that    it    is    through    our 


ol4)    The   nuncii,    Caraccioli   and   Akander,   acted  jointly   at   this  inter- 
view. 


138  THE  DIET   SAYS   LUTHER   SHALL  COME ! 

fault  that  the  matter  is  still  undecided,  because  our  employers 
at  Rome  weigh  issues  not  with  the  honest  zeal  which  they  re- 
quire, but  according  to  the  possible  outcome.  Hence  every  day 
we  have  to  pass  through  fear  and  wrangling:  when  we  make 
complaint  to  Chievres,  the  Chancellor,  and  others  that  the  mat- 
ter has  not  been  submitted  to  the  Germans,  they  reply  that  the 
princes  have  already  protested  that  they  will  not  obey  such  a 
mandate,   unless  it  is   prepared  agreeably  to   their   decisions. 

True,  Glapion  and  many  other  gentlemen  declare  that  many 
princes  and  knights  have  had  no  knowledge  of  Luther's  errors, 
but  only  of  his  scandalous  attacks  upon  the  Pope  and  the 
clergy,  and,  being  caught  in  a  rampant  error,  had  become  asso- 
ciated with  the  Lutheran  traitors ;  but  they  have  now  become 
completely  changed  and  have  returned  to  the  true  faith,  since 
they  have  heard  of  the  heresies  which,  as  I  proved  before  the 
Emperor  and  the  Diet,  Luther's  writings  contain.  God  knows 
how  much  truth  there  is  in  this.  I  only  wish  that,  setting  aside 
the  Diet,  the  Emperor  would  have  granted  us  the  mandate  after 
the  decision  of  December  29  last  year.  May  God  pardon  him 
[the  Archbishop  of  Mayence],  who  had  been  entrusted  with 
the  preparation  of  the  mandate,  and  who  has  caused  the  delay 
by  his  faint-heartedness. 

Of  course,  if  after  the  remarkable  session  and  decision  of 
the  princes  we  could  still  bring  the  matter  to  a  happy  finish, 
that  would  be  a  thousand  times  better;  we  would  not  have  to 
raise  a  protest  against  the  decision,  and  the  utter  destruction 
of  the  Lutheran  hydra  could  then  be  predicted  with  certainty. 
Owing  to  my  incessant  appeals  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg 
has  now  made  up  his  mind  so  to  alter  the  document  that  no  ob- 
jection either  from  the  princes  or  from  the  people  need  be 
feared,  and  yet  the  result  which  we  desire  will  be  achieved. 
Accordingly,  last  night  the  mandate  was  completed  in  Ger- 
man, and  very  early  this  morning  the  Archbishop  showed  it  to 
me.  Spicgcl-^^-"*)  was  ordered  to  translate  the  mandate  into 
Latin,  and  to  submit  it  to  mc  before  any  of  the  commission- 
ers might  get  to  see  it.  But  this  has  not  been  done ;  however, 
from  four  o'clock  till  the  present  hour,  half  past  eight  in  the 
evening,  they  are  deliberating  upon  it  at  the  lodging  of  the 
Bishop  of  vSitten.  T  shall  try  to  obtain  information  early  to- 
morrow morning,  and  see  what  can  be  done. 

Thus  our  affairs  proceed  in  an  uncertain  manner  and  are 
hourly  subject  to  change.  No  human  genius  could  point  out  a 
means   of   saving   our   cause.     On   all   sides   we   meet   with   ob- 


315)   The  secretary  whom  Aleander  had  bribed. 


THE  DIET   SAYS   LUTHER   SHALL   COME  !  139 

stacles  and  personal  animosities.  If  the  Emperor  were  not  so 
well  disposed,  we  should  have  to  give  up  the  game.  Although 
it  is  not  easy  to  discover  the  cause  that  is  at  the  base  of  tiie 
existing  conditions,  still  it  has  become  clear  to  me  to  a  great 
extent,  but  before  my  removal  from  Germany  I  dare  not  make 
a  report  of  these  unheard-of  matters.  They  are  of  such  a  nature 
that  no  one  would  believe  them.  But  it  is  dangerous  to  em- 
l)ody  them  in  a  written  report.  Nor  would  my  communicating 
them  change  the  course  of  events  that  break  my  ht-art,  when 
I  reflect  that  this  treatment  affects,  not  me,  but  God,  our  faith, 
and  the  Holy  Father.  I  urgently  request  Your  Lordship  to 
consider  my  account  of  the  situation  the  only  correct  one ;  and, 
for  God's  sake !  be  careful  not  to  communicate  to  others  my 
report  of  the  clash  among  the  electors  and  princes  while  I  am 
still  sojourning  in  lands  under  their  jurisdiction.  For  when 
some  one  here  dropped  a  remark  about  the  affair,  they  became 
greatly  excited  and  wanted  to  know  who  was  spreading  their 
secrets.  You  know  they  are  only  seeking  an  opportunity  for 
laying  hands  on  some  one — and  I  would  be  the  first  one  to  suffer 
blows — or  for  new  wrangling  by  which  they  hope  to  delay  the 
execution  of  my  orders. 

In  conclusion,  I  assure  Your  Holiness  that  we  are  endeavor- 
ing to  discharge  our  duties  with  the  utmost  fidelity  and  zeal. 
Caraccioli  and  Monsignor  Raphael  never  tire  in  their  support 
of  the  measures  which  I  have  adopted  in  this  matter.  It  would 
be  unbecoming  in  me  to  speak  of  my  person ;  I  only  mention 
that  my  state  of  health  is  so  low  that  I  am  afraid  that  I  shall 
have  to  sacrifice  my  life  in  this  cause.  That  would  not  be  sur- 
prising, indeed ;  for  the  task  is  an  altogether  extraordinary  and 
dangerous  one,  and  the  world  seems  metamorphosed.  Besides, 
the  immense  burden  of  public  addresses  and  private  conversa- 
tions, the  gathering  and  disseminating  of  information,  debates, 
and  similar  measures  that  are  necessary  have  been  loaded  on 
me.  God's  will  be  done.  May  He  guide  His  cause,  and  protect 
our  Holy  Father,   His   true  vicegerent,   and  Your  Lordship  3iC) 

The  Courier  did  not  start  at  once  with  the  foree^oinp^ 
letter,  and  Aleander  gave  him  another  dispatch,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 28,  which  explains  to  some  extent  the  mysterious  trans- 
actions of  the  commission. 

Before  sunrise  I  conferred  with  Chievres,  who  informed  me 
that  the  Fmperor  earnestly  desired  to  see  order  brought  into 
the  Lutheran  affair.     When  I  dilated  on  the  evil  effects  of  this 


nid)    I:AI-,  pp.  T4-7;   KDA,  pp.  70  3;   HAI.,  p.  144   f. 


140  THE  DIET   SAYS   LUTHER   SHALL  COME  ! 

tardy  process  and  on  the  danger  which  this  heresy  held  for  the 
Christian  Church  and  for  every  commonwealth,  he  repeatedly 
expressed  the  opinion  that  he  could  control  the  movement  with- 
out great  difficulty,  if  only  the  Emperor's  policy  were  followed. 
In  doing  this  one  need  not  utterly  disregard  the  resolution 
passed  by  the  German  princes.  This  was  the  third  or  fourth 
time  that  he  told  me  that  in  his  opinion  the  movement  was  not 
as  hard  to  conquer  as  all  claimed.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Chancellor  considers  a  campaign  for  the  suppression  of  the 
heresy  futile  without  the  aid  of  the  Council.  "The  fates  are 
against  us" — ^that  is  his  standing  evasion.  Glapion  thinks  he 
sees  even  now  everything  going  up  in  smoke.  The  princes  are 
full  of  indecision,  the  prelates  full  of  fear ;  nobody  knows  a 
way  how  to  meet  this  heresy;  even  those  who  fear  Luther 
speak  in  his  favor. 

Next  I  went  to  the  Bishop  of  Sitten,  in  whose  lodging  the 
conference  took  place  yesterday.  I  cannot  get  out  of  him  all 
that  was  decided,  but  I  know  from  a  reliable  source  that  in  the 
same  mandate  they  intend  to  order  the  destruction  of  Luther's 
books  and  his  citation,  the  latter  of  which  is  to  be  for  the  pur- 
pose of  asking  him  whether  he  wrote  the  condemned  books,  and 
whether  he  intends  to  defend  them.  The  rest  is  as  I  reported 
yesterday.  The  Bishop  of  Tuy  told  me  that  so  far  the  man- 
date exists  only  in  a  German  draft,  and  when  I  inquired  about 
the  mode  of  their  deliberations,  he  told  me  that  concerning  each 
article  they  were  hearing  various  opinions,  and  then  took  them 
up  for  discussion.  They  finally  gave  the  draft  to  Spiegel  this 
morning;  he  is  to  translate  it  into  Latin  and  communicate  it  to 
me.-'^''')  If  they  will  only  do  this ;  but  I  fear  they  will  form 
their  decision  before   we   shall  be  able  to  inspect  the  mandate. 

It  seems  that,  contrary  to  the  Emperor's  orders,  and  to  my 
disgust  and  his  own,  Glapion  has  been  excluded  from  these 
deliberations ;  he  advised  me  to-day  about  noon  to  be  on  my 
guard  lest  the  imperialists  spoil  the  edict,  by  mixing  up  one 
issue  with  the  other  and,  under  the  pretext  of  citing  Luther, 
allowing  nothing  to  be  done.  He  says  he  never  saw  such  a 
confusion  ;  everybody  was  talking  at  the  same  time,  and  all  be- 
lieved that  the  end  of  the  world  had  come,  but  nobody  was  able 
to  form  a  decision.  In  one  hour  everything  seemed  to  be  set- 
tled, in  the  next  some  little  circumstance  would  upset  every- 
thing.   God  alone  can  point  the  way  out  of  this  labyrinth. 

This  morning  at  eight  Caraccioli,  Monsignor  Raphael,  and 
T    entered    the    Emperor's    audience    room    and    waited    for    him 


317)   That    is,    the    Latin    draft. 


THE   DIET   SAYS   I.TTtTTER    STTALI.   mME  !  141 

two  whole  hours,  while  he  was  upstairs  in  the  Council  of  State, 
wlicre  he  stayed  a  long  time.  During  this  time  Elector  Joachim 
advised  us  under  no  condition  to  consent  to  the  citation  of 
Luther,  as  that  would  cause  the  most  distressing  scenes;  he 
said  he  knew  the  mind  and  intentions  of  these  princes  and 
estates.  May  God  protect  us  in  this  vast  danger !  When  the 
King  came  down,  he  seemed  very  morose,  most  likely  on  ac- 
count of  the  evil  reports  that  had  come  in  from  Spain.  Still, 
after  Caraccioli  and  I  had  addressed  him,  he  promised  to  take 
the  matter  up  in  the  afternoon,  and  when  I  pictured  to  him  the 
sad  state  of  affairs  that  had  resulted  from  the  procrastinations 
of  the  last  two  months,  he  promised  to  do  his  utmost  to  establish 
order.  But  he  did  not  appear  as  determined  as  formerly,  though 
all  are  forced  to  admit  what  1  firmly  believe,  I'lc,  that  he  desires 
with  all  his  heart  the  extinction  of  the  heresy.  However,  his 
conlidential  agents  are  delaying  the  decision.  Heaven  knows 
for  what  reasons.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  have  a  greater  re- 
gard for  men  than  for  God,  and  that  from  the  straitened  con- 
dition of  the  Church  they  intend  to  draw  some  advantage  for 
their   worldly  politics.^^S) 

In  these  dispatches  the  victorious  orator  of  Ash  Wednes- 
day is  a  thoroug-hly  humbled  individual.  His  pious  reflec- 
tions on  the  interposition  of  Providence  and  his  godly  sorrow 
over  the  wickedness  of  niingling  Church  and  State,  coming 
from  such  a  source,  have  a  comic  effect.  But  what  liad 
happened  that  closed  all  doors  to  the  councils  of  the  Diet 
tight  against  Roman  eavesdropping  and  intcrloj^ers?  The 
message  that  had  arrived  from  Spain  stated  that  the  revolt 
of  tlie  Cow.niuncros  in  Castile  had  been  greatly  strengthened 
by  the  accession  of  the  mighty  Duke  of  Salvatierra  and  by 
the  revolutionary  activities  of  the  bold,  crafty,  and  ambitious 
Acunna,  Bishop  of  Zamora.  Charles  had  requested  the  Pope 
to  depose  this  seditious  and  sacrilegious  prelate,  who  was 
pillaging  Spanish  sanctuaries  and  using-  the  spoils  for 
advancing  his  political  schemes;  but  he  had  failed  to  obtain 
what  he  had  asked  for.  The  Bishop's  gold  had  purchased 
powerful  friends  for  him  at  Rome,  who  balked  the  aims  of 
Charles.  The  Bishop  was  now  attempting  to  wrest  to  him- 
self the  archiepiscopate  of  Toledo  and  therewith  the  primacy 


;;1S)    r.AL,    pp.    :^  -'1:    KDA,    pp.    74-0;    ITAI..    p.    14.'')   (T. 


142  THE  DIET   SAYS   LUTHER   SHALL  COME  ! 

of  Spain,  and  with  the  aid  of  France  he  hoped  to  obtain  the 
papal  confirmation.  Nor  was  this  all ;  a  revolution  was  in 
progress  also  in  Valencia,  and  this  disturbance  had  gained 
a  terrific  impetus  in  February  and  was  spreading  to 
Andalusia,  Aragon,  Mallorca  and  Saragossa.  Rome  was 
connected  with  all  the.se  seditious  enterprises,  hoping  thereby 
to  curb  the  excessive  power  of  Charles  and  to  make  him 
pliant  to  Vatican  diplomacy. 

The  papal  scheme  produced  the  very  opposite  effect  in 
Charles  and  his  ministers.  The  revised  edition  of  the  man- 
date emerged  from  Lang's  commission  some  time  during 
the  afternoon  of  February  28.  It  advised  the  burning  of 
Luther's  books  and  his  citation. ^^'^^  The  Emperor  immedi- 
ately called  a  meeting  of  the  Diet  for  March  1  at  noon,  and 
submitted  three  questions:  1)  When  and  to  what  place 
shall  Luther  be  summoned?  The  Emperor  preferred  not  to 
have  him  summoned  to  Worms,  but  to  Frankfort  or  to  some 
other  place  in  the  neighborhood.  2)  Are  manifestly  heretical 
books  of  Luther  to  be  burned  or  suppressed  at  once?  3)  In 
case  Luther  would  disregard  the  citation  and  refuse  to  recant 
his  heretical  books,  will  the  Estates  be  ready  to  proceed 
against  him  as  a  manifest  heretic  by  publishing  a  mandate? 
At  the  same  time  the  Emperor  gave  an  oral  and,  on  the  next 
day,  a  written  reply  to  the  opinion  which  the  Diet  had 
expressed  to  him  February  19,  and  promised  Luther  a  fair 
hearing  and  a  safe-conduct.  As  regards  the  grievances 
against  the  Roman  See,  the  Emperor  requested  that  they 
be  submitted  in  writing,  and  promised  that  he  would  gra- 
ciously receive  and  deliberate  upon  them  with  the  Diet.  In 
this  session  on  Friday,  March  1,  the  Estates  did  no  more  than 
receive  the  F^<mperor's  communication  od  referendum,  for 
further  deliberation.  The  revised  mandate  was  discussed  by 
them  in  the  session  on  Saturday,  March  2.  The  citation  of 
Luther  for  a  fair  hearing  under  an  imperial  safe-conduct 
was  promptly  accepted.  Regarding  the  mandate  the  con- 
sensus of  opinions  voiced  was:     First  let  Luther  be  heard 


319)    FNU,   I,   pp.   58-Gl. 


THE  DIET   SAYS    LUTllER   SHALL  CoMe!  143 

before  any  decision  is  reached  regarding  a  mandate.  The 
Estates  asked  for  four  to  five  days  to  deliberate  on  this 
question.  The  temper  of  the  Diet  in  these  days  is  reflected 
in  a  letter  of  Spalatin  to  Lang  at  Erfurt,  lie  writes  on 
March  8:— 

The  cause  of  the  Gospel  and  Luther  is  much  agitated,  but 
it  is  remarkable  what  agreement  on  the  man  there  is  among 
clergy  and  laity,  princes  and  people,  albeit  I  hear  that  most  of 
the  clergy  are  passive,  not  wishing  to  resist  the  Pope.  Satur- 
day of  last  week  the  Emperor  had  a  document  read  against  our 
Luther  and  his  followers,  to  be  published,  and  to  say  that  he 
will  be  summoned  either  here  or  elsewhere  to  recant  the  doc- 
trines which  his  little  professors  have  told  him  are  heretical ; 
I  know  not  what  will  happen.  God  helping  us  we  shall  see ; 
meantime  let  us  pray  for  the  safety  of  the  whole  Church.  1 
do  not  think  our  Elector  need  be  bothered  about  writing  letters 
in  Luther's  behalf  to  the  town  council  and  people  of  Erfurt 
For  Luther  will  be  safe,  even  though  all  the  enemies  of  the 
Gospel  are  unconquered.^20) 

Lender  the  pressure  of  his  clerical  advisers,  who  protested 
against  further  procrastination,  the  Emperor  granted  the 
Diet  until  March  5  to  come  to  a  decision  regarding  the 
mandate.  The  Estates  met — and  declined  to  act  on  the 
mandate.  Duke  William  of  Bavaria  was  so  fully  convinced 
that  nothing  would  be  done  to  Luther  before  he  had  received 
a  hearing  at  the  Diet  that  he  dispatched  a  special  messenger 
to  his  domains  with  orders  to  stop  all  persecutions  of 
Lutherans.  The  decision  of  the  Diet  was  connnunicatcd  to 
the  Emperor  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  March  6,  and 
he  accepted  it  immediately,  and  ordered  the  citation  of 
Luther  and  a  safe-conduct  to  be  prepared.  The  place  where 
Luther  was  to  appear  had  also  been  settled  by  the  Diet :  it 
was  to  be  Worms. 

With  supreme  relish,  almost  with  avidity,  the  Diet  took  up 
tlie  Emperor's  suggestion  to  compile  grievances  against  the 
Curia.  A  commission  was  appointed,  composed  of  spiritual 
and  secular  electors  and  princes,  wliich  was  to  collect  the 
grievances.     On  this  one  issue  the  hitherto  sluggish,  indif- 

;j20)   SC,    1,    4S9. 


144  ALEANDER  TRIES   TO  ARRANGE  LL'THER's  JOURNEY   TO  WORMS. 

ferent,  reluctant  Diet  became  enthusiastically  active.  Nearly 
every  member  worked  on  some  report  of  a  grievance,  and 
the  rooms  of  the  Commission  on  Grievances  were  crowded 
from  early  morning  till  late  at  night.  The  Commission,  too, 
worked  with  a  will ;  it  did  not  stop  gathering  evidence  until 
one  hundred  and  two  gravamina  were  collected,  wdiich 
faithfully  mirror  to  the  reader  the  religious  and  social  condi- 
tions of  Germany  on  the  eve  of  the  nation's  break  with 
Rome.  The  index  of  the  gravamina  alone  fills  four  columns 
in  W'alch.-'-^)  These  grievances  w-ere  not  redressed  at 
Worms,  but  they  are  for  the  next  years  the  corpus  delicti 
with  w^hich  the  German  nation  confronted  the  saintly  high- 
binders at  the  Tiber  whom  it  w^as  trying  at  its  own  tribunal. 


16.  Aleander  Tries  to  Arrange  Luther's 
Journey  to  Worms. 

The  7\cts  of  the  Diet  record  that  immediately  after 
deciding  to  summon  Luther,  the  Emperor  importuned  Elector 
Frederick  to  issue  the  citation  on  his  own  authority, 
because  for  the  Emperor  to  address  a  letter  to  a  condemned 
heretic  seemed  unbecoming  and  would  put  the  Emperor  in 
bad  odor  with  other  nations.  The  Emperor's  Catholic  con- 
science and  reputation  were  put  to  a  severe  test  by  the  cita- 
tion. What  would  Charles's  Spanish  subjects,  especially 
the  clergy,  what  would  Francis  I  of  France,  his  bitter  enemy, 
what  would  Henry  VIII  of  England  say?  How  could  they 
not  exploit  this  imperial  act  to  break  down  the  young  mon  - 
arcli's  influence  and  sully  his  fair  name  !  And  not  only  the 
Emperor,  but  every  Romanist  felt  disgraced  by  the  imperial 
summons  to  Luther.  Lazarus  Spengler  drastically  describes 
the  disgust  of  the  Papists  at  Worms  by  saying  that  the 
citation  of  the  heretic  was  more  unpalatable  to  them  than 


321)   XV,  1730-79. 


ALEANDER  TRIES   TO   ARRANGE   LUTHER's   JOURNEY   TO   WORMS.    145 

Einbeck  beer  to  the  Italians,  and  had  queered  every  stop  in 
Aleander's  organ. 

True  to  his  policy  of  non-interference,  the  Elector 
declined  isuing-  the  citation ;  not  he,  but  the  Empire,  he  said, 
was  summoning-  Luther.  Moreover,  ho  pleaded  that  if  any- 
thing should  hai)pen  to  Luther,  the  blame  would  be  put  on 
the  Elector.^'--^  The  Emperor  had  to  (pial'f  the  bitter  cup 
that  his  German  Diet  had  filled  for  him,  and  the  draft  was 
not  made  sweeter  to  him  by  any  means  when  his  ambassador 
at  Rome  wrote  to  him  on  March  20: — 

The  Pope  urges  me  to  remind  Your  Majesty  in  every  letter 
1  write  that  you  should  not  treat  the  affair  concerning  Martin 
Luther  lightly.  Some  of  the  cardinals  complained  in  consistory 
that  Your  Majesty  had  ordered  Martin  Luther  into  your  pres- 
ence, saying  that  you  had  thereby  arrogated  to  yourself  a  juris- 
diction belonging  to  the  Holy  See.  I  exculpated  you.  The  Pope 
said  that  he  had  been  informed  that  Your  Majesty  was  ill  ad- 
vised when  you  decided  to  sec  Martin  Luther,  "who  would  not 
be  well  received  even  in  hell."  His  Holiness  begs  Your  Maj- 
esty not  to  forget  your  obligations  towards  God,  the  Church, 
and  himsclf.^-2) 

The  Curia  was  furious  when  Aleander  reported  the 
unheard-of  event  of  March  6.  The  recall  of  Aleander  as 
an  inefiicient  agent  had  been  under  consideration  for  some 
time,  because  of  the  doleful  dispatches  the  nuncio  was  send- 
ing, and  because  his  enemies  at  Worms  were  sending 
unfavorable  reports  about  his  conduct  to  Rome.  Aleander 
had  been  able  to  avert  the  disgrace  of  his  life  by  describing, 
with  a  fair  degree  of  truthfulness,  the  tremendous  amount 
of  work  which  he  was  doing  day  and  night  for  Rome,  and 
by  pointing  out  that  his  recall  would  only  be  playing  into  the 
hands  of  Rome's  enemies,  and  would  not  imjjrove  the  situa- 
tion. A  new  agent  could  not  hope  to  become  master  of  the 
situation  at  this  juncture  at  once,  and  the  Diet  nn"ght  be 
adjourned  before  he  had  found  his  bearings,  while  he, 
Aleander.    witli    his    accunudated    knowledge    and    abundant 


322')    The    documents      on      tliis      oi)iso(le      from      Cyprian's      Nuctcliclic 
Urhuvdeti  (II.  311)   arc  found  in  X\',   I7S4  f. 
323y  SC,   1,   498. 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    UF    CALSAK.  10 


146  ALEANDER  TRIES  TO  ARRANGE  LUTHER's  JOURNEY  TO  WORMS. 

experience,  might  still  snatch  victory  from  defeat.  The 
Curia  saw  the  wisdom  of  this  argument  and  soothed  the 
agitated  nuncio  by  new  marks  of  its  favor.  And  now  there 
had  to  come  this  resolution  that  Luther  must  be  brought  to 
Worms !     It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  Aleander. 

However,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  yield  no  more  ground 
than  he  was  compelled  to,  and  to  fight  to  the  last  ditch.  The 
citation  of  Luther  was  irrevocably  settled ;  the  resolution 
cculd  not  be  revoked.  But  Aleander  proposed  to  have  the 
citation  put  in  such  formidable  terms  that  Luther  would 
decline  to  obey  it.  Aleander  kept  in  closest  touch  with  the 
imperial  chancellery.  On  March  8  he  was  shown  a  citation 
that  was  so  plainly  deterrent  that  Aleander  felt  sure  Luther 
would  not  come.  He  was  also  glad  to  hear  that  a  common 
courier  would  carry  the  message  to  Wittenberg,  and  the 
starting  of  the  citation  from  Worms  would  not  be  made  a 
great  state  event.  Still  it  might  be  possible  that  this  dare- 
devil monk  would  obey  the  summons  after  all.  Aleander 
prepared  for  that  eventuality.  He  began  to  map  out  the 
itinerary  and  travel  program  for  Luther.  The  heretic  must 
be  brought  to  Worms  with  the  greatest  secrecy;  at  all  places 
through  which  he  must  pass  the  people  must  be  prevented 
from  coming  in  contact  with  him.  On  his  arrival  at  Worms 
he  must  be  locked  up  in  the  Bishop's  Palace,  or  in  a  trust- 
worthy monastery,  and  no  suspected  persons  must  be  per- 
mitted to  comnumicate  with  him.  The  Emperor's  counselors 
promised  Aleander  to  assign  Luther  a  lodging  at  the 
Augustinian  cloister,  and  to  place  a  guard  at  its  entrance. 
This  arrangement,  however,  seemed  suspicious  to  Aleantler. 
because  the  Augustinians  might  favor  their  brother  Augus- 
tinian, Luther,  too  much.  His  suspicion  was  greatly 
increased  when  he  learned  that  the  departure  of  the  mes- 
senger who  was  to  carry  the  citation  to  Wittenberg  was 
being  delayed  from  day  to  day,  and  that  instead  of  a  common 
courier  a  herald  of  the  Empire  was  to  be  sent  with  the 
citation,  and  last,  not  least,  that  the  threatening  citation 
prepared  by  Aleander  had  been  changed  into  a  very  cour- 


ALEANDER  TRIES  TO  ARRANGE  LUTITER's  JOURNEY  TO  WORMS.   147 

teous  one.  When  Aleander  complained  of  these  changes, 
he  was  told  that  the  courteous  style  of  the  citation  was  the 
ordinary  style  used  hy  the  imperial  chancellery,  and  to  send 
a  threatening  citation  would  have  meant  to  warn  Luther 
not  to  come.  Aleander  discovered  that  he  was  being  shut 
out  from  the  councils  of  the  great,  and  that  all  his  sources 
of  information  were  beginning  to  fail  him.  lie  rightly 
connected  this  change  of  attitude  against  him  with  the 
report  which  had  just  reached  Worms  that  Robert  de  la  Mark 
had  started  the  French  war  against  Charles  V  by  an  incur- 
sion into  Flanders. 

Still  undaunted  by  these  disappointments,  Aleander  now 
tried  to  have  a  mandate  issued  on  the  EmperoFs  personal 
responsibility  for  the  burning  of  Luther's  books.  He  calcu- 
lated that  this  mandate,  posted  all  along  Luther's  route  of 
travel,  would  scare  Luther  from  starting  on  his  journey,  or 
induce  him  to  turn  back  if  he  had  already  started.  This 
mandate  seemed  all  the  more  necessary  to  Aleander,  since 
Caraccioli  had  told  him  of  a  conversation  with  the  ministers 
of  the  Emperor  in  which  the  latter  stated  Luther  would  only 
be  asked  to  recant  certain  dogmatic  statements,  but  not  his 
attacks  on  the  Pope.  The  Emperor,  to  make  an  impression 
on  his  enemies  at  Paris,  London,  and  Rome,  who  were 
ready  to  denounce  him  as  an  enemy  of  the  Church,  was  ready 
to  issue  the  mandate,  and  ordered  his  ministers  to  prepare 
the  document.  Aleander  helped  in  the  preparation,  and, 
wdien  the  document  was  ready,  reported  to  Rome:  "What  a 
beautiful  mandate  had  I  prepared  in  Latin,  exactly  after  my 
own  heart!  And  the  commission  which  was  to  pass  on  it 
had  endorsed  it  ten  times  I"  The  mandate  changed  Luther's 
citation  into  a  simple  summons  to  come  to  Worms  and 
recant.  But  once  more  Aleander  was  balked  ;  the  ministers 
(.f  Charles  V  argued  that  after  the  adverse  vote  on  the 
mandate  in  the  Diet  the  Emperor  risked  too  much  by  issuing 
it  on  his  own  authority,  and  that  some  deference  must  be 
shown  the  Diet.  Accordingly,  the  paragraphs  lauding  the 
zeal    of   the    Pope    and    those    denouncing    Luther    in    harsh 


148  ALEANDER  TRIES  TO  ARRANGE  LUTHER's   JOI^RNEY  TO  WORMS. 

terms,  which  Aleander  had  inserted,  were  eliminated,  and 
the  order  to  burn  Luther's  books  was  changed  into  an  order 
that  his  books  be  sequestered  by  the  magistrates  until  further 
orders  from  the  Emperor.  This  was  done  in  order  to 
identify  the  Diet  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  mandate, 
because  it  could  be  said  now  that  the  Emperor  had  considered 
the  wishes  of  the  Diet  in  fixing  the  terms  of  the  mandate. 
Moreover,  at  the  time  when  the  imperial  mandate  in  its  toned- 
down  form  was  communicated  to  the  Diet  as  a  piece  of 
information,  the  Diet  was  deliberating  on  Charles's  Rom- 
fahrt,  the  customary  journey  of  German  Emperors  to  Rome 
for  presentation  and  solemn  inauguration  into  office  ,by  the 
Pope.  vSince  the  expenses  for  this  journey  had  to  be  borne 
by  the  German  nation,  it  was  not  politic  to  rouse  the  Diet's 
resentment  by  tlie  Emperor's  'mandate.  Even  in  its  mild  form 
the  mandate  disgusted  the  Diet;  the  Saxon  Elector  heard  it 
with  eloquent  silence;  the  knights  and  estates  denounced  it 
as  a  base  Italian  trick.  Luther  always  declared  it  a  breach 
of  his  safe-conduct. 

Aleander  came  to  be  more  detested  in  those  days  than  ever 
1)efore.  His  letters  are  overflowing  with  descriptions  of  the 
personal  dangers  to  which  he  is  constantly  exposed,  and 
of  the  vile  literature  that  is  being  published  against  him  and 
Rome  by  the  two  printing-presses  that  had  been  set  up  in  tlic 
city.  He  forwards  copies  of  this  literature  to  Rome,  among 
them  a  German  litany  sung  in  mockery  and  scorn  by  Germans 
cUiring  Lent  in  1521.^-"*)  Aleander  scored  a  momentary 
triumph  over  the  printers  and  booksellers  of  Worms;  for 
when  the  news  of  the  Emperor's  mandate  against  Luther's 
books  began  to  circulate,  the  booksellers  hurriedly  packed 
up  their  stock  and  removed  it  to  a  safe  place. 

Aleander's  efforts  received  another  check.  He  had  the 
])rinting  of  the  mandate  started  at  once,  and  even  reported 
to  Rome  that  the  mandate  had  come  off  the  press.  But  now 
the  publication  was  stayed  by  Charles's  ministers,  and  as 
soon    as    this    was    known,    three    wagonloads    of    Luther's 


.324)    See  Aj)pendix. 


THE  CITATION   TO   WORMS.  149 

writings  were  brought  into  Worms,  and  the  trade  in  Lullicr's 
books  flourished  more  greatly  than  ever.  Tlic  reason  for 
the  new  order  was  that  the  Emperor  had  been  taken  seriously 
ill.  He  had  been  in  feeble  health  during  the  greater  part  of 
bis  stay  at  sickly  Worms,  and  while  inspecting  three  horses 
which  the  Duke  of  Mantua  had  presented  to  him,  had  con- 
tracted a  severe  cold.  He  was  confined  to  his  room  till 
niarch  19.  The  herald  with  the  citation  to  Luther  had  already 
left  Worms  when  the  Emperor  was  able  to  be  up  and  about. 
Aleander  was  utterly  perplexed;  not  until  March  26  did  he 
obtain  permission  to  publish  the  mandate.  On  that  day  the 
herald  entered  Wittenberg. 

Aleander's  anxieties,  hopes,  fears,  and  disappointments 
during  these  days  have  been  described  in  a  digest  of  the 
news  in  his  dispatches  to  Medici  in  the  Appendix.  The  only 
pleasing  event  that  came  to  him  in  these  days  of  distress 
was  to  the  efTect  that  a  certain  well-known  lady  in  Rome, 
who  had  served  several  gentlemen  with  the  same  surprise 
before,  was  preparing  to  declare  Aleander  the  father  of  her 
latest  child. 


17.  The  Citation  to  Worms. 

On  Tuesday  during  Holy  Week,  March  26,"'--'9  there 
rode  into  Wittenberg  the  special  imperial  messenger  that 
brought  to  Luther  the  sunnnons  to  appear  before  the  Diet. 
Kaspar  Storm  (Sturm),  surnamed  ••Deutschland."  the  bearer 
of  the  citation,  is  the  same  gentleman  whom  we  saw  em- 
broiled   in    the    quarrel    over    the    oration    f>f    h'aber    at    the 


:]2."))  t'or.latiis  (1721)  nanus  March  25  as  tin-  day.  and  Walch  ( N  \  . 
•?133)  evtn  Maicli  2:;.  Tin-  imperial  safr-conduct  was  for  twenty-one  days 
after  tlic  delivery  of  the  summons,  laither  arrived  at  Worms  April  10.  the 
very  day  when'  his  safe-conduct  expired.  Storm  had  left  Worms  for 
Wittenberg  March  If.,  and  had  reached  Wittenberg  in  ten  days.  Luther  s 
journey  to  Worms  required  twelve  days.  To  date  the  delivery  of  the 
summons  sooner  than  March  20  would  leave  the  last  days  of  Luther  s 
journey  uncovered  bv  the  safe-conduct,  and  we  hear  of  no  charge  against 
Luther  that  he  had  broken  its  terms.  March  20  is  given  as  the  date  in 
Colloquia  cd.  P.indseil  11.  439;  ML  180,  and  in  I  i.uliredeii,  ed.  I'ocr- 
stemann,    Mr.   -.'009,    1\',   348. 


150  THE  CITATION  TO   WORMS. 

funeral  of  Cardinal  de  Croy.^^e)  pjg  ^y^g  ^j^  honored  citizen 
of  Oppenheim,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  sent  on  this  mission 
as  a  ''herald  of  the  Empire"  reflected  considerable  distinction 
on  the  citation  of  Luther.  It  caused  the  citation  to  appear  as 
a  great  affair  of  state.  But  this  was  not  the  only  reason  why 
Aleander  was  disconcerted  over  the  choice  of  such  a  mes- 
senger ;  the  papal  nuncio  remembered  that  Storm  had  boldly 
voiced  sentiments  decidedly  hostile  to  the  Roman  clergy 
and  plainly  favorable  to  Luther.^^i)  Aleander  scented 
treachery  in  the  choice  of  such  an  outspoken  friend  of  Luther 
as  official  guide  and  protector  to  the  heretic  on  his  journey 
to  Worms.  In  a  letter  to  Medici  of  April  15  he  expresses 
his  grief  and  suspicions : — 

This  is  the  same  herald  who  in  the  Emperor's  hall  drew 
his  sword  against  a  retainer^^s)  Qf  ^^g  Bishop  of.  Sion,  when 
the  man  defended  the  papal  prerogative  against  the  monk  John 
Faber  of  Augsburg.  The  last-named,  in  his  funeral  oration 
for  the  Cardinal  de  Croy,  reviled  the  Holy  See,  unmindful  of 
the  many  favors  shown  him  by  the  Pope.  This  herald  is  an  im- 
pudent fool  and  clown,  a  bitter  foe  to  the  clergy,  and  just  the 
man  to  invent  the  story  of  some  miracle  done  by  Martin  on 
this  journey,  or  an  appearance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  over  his  head, 
as  is  already  represented  in  his  pictures.  And  although,  as  a 
world-famous  liar,  the  herald  deserves  no  credence,  yet  the 
whole  populace  is  possessed  of  such  a  passion  for  Luther  that 
they  would  believe  the  devil  himself, — who,  by  the  way,  rules 
them  all, — if  he  spoke  well  of  Luther.  As  the  imperialists  ob- 
stinately concealed  from  us  the  name  of  the  herald  and  the 
time  of  his  departure,  we  could  not  hinder  the  choice  of  such  a 
man.  They  were  probably  afraid  that  we  should  try  to  bribe 
the  herald  to  frighten  Luther  from  coming,  which  they  then, 
as  I  previously  related,  greatly  desired,  but  which  they  now 
regret.  Or  else  they  feared  we  might  waylay  Luther ;  but  both 
their   suspicions   were  absolutely  false.     The   fact  is   that  for  a 


326)  See  chap.   8  in  this  book. 

327)  In  1530  Justus  Jonas,  in  a  letter  from  Augsburg  to  Luther, 
writes  his  name  "J.  Sturm"  and  calls  him  "our  lierald  and  guide  to  the 
Diet  of  Worms."  He  reports  that  Storm  is  at  that  time  with  him  at  Augs- 
burg,  and   "is  speaking   of   Luther  in   most   respectful   terms."     XXIa,   1540. 

328)  A  certain  Michael  Sander,  Doctor  of  Law,  who  had  studied  at 
P.ologna,    and    was   now    secretary   to    Matthew    Schinner,    Cardinal    of    Sion. 


THE  CITATION  TO   WORMS.  151 

long  time  we  could  not  by  any  way  learn  anything  on  the  two 
points   aforementioned.'^^^) 

Storm  delivered  to  Luther  the  following  letter  of  the 
Emperor : — 

Charles,  by  God's  grace  Emperor-elect  3^0)  ^t  ^n  times  Aug- 
menter  of  the  Realm.'^si)   etc. 

Honorable,  Dear,  and  Pious  Sir !  As  we  and  the  Estates  of 
the  Holy  Empire,  here  assembled,  have  purposed  and  decided 
to  obtain  information  about  the  doctrine  and  books  which  have 
been  issued  by  you  some  time  ago,  we  have  given,  and  hereby 
send  you.  our  and  the  Empire's  free  and  straight  safe-conduct 
to  come  hither  and  return  hence  to  your  safe  domicile.  We 
desire  that  you  start  promptly,  so  as  to  be  with  us  here  without 
fail  within  the  twenty-one  days  fixed  in  our  safe-conduct  ',^^~^ 
and  that  you  do  not  stay  away  from  fear  of  any  violence  or 
wrong".  For  we  shall  strictly  hold  you  to  this  our  safe-conduct, 
and  absolutely  rely  on  your  coming.  By  so  doing  you  will  act 
in  accordance  with  our  serious  purpose. 

Given  in  our  and  the  Empire's  city  of  Worms,  on  the  sixth 
day  of  the  month  of  March,  1521. 

Charles.  [seal] 

Signed  by  the  command  of  the  Emperor:  Albert  Cardinal  of 
Mayence,  Arch-Chancellor,  with  his  own  hand. 

Nicholas  Ziegler.333) 

The  imperial  safe-conduct  stated : — 

We,  Charles  the  Fifth,  by  God's  grace  Roman  Emperor- 
elect,  at  all  times  Augmenter  of  the  Realm  of  Germany,  Spain, 
both  Sicilies,  Jerusalem,  Hungary,  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  etc.,  King, 
Archduke  of  Austria  and  Duke  of  Burgundy,  Count  of  Haps- 
burg.  Flanders  and  Tyrol,  etc., — 

Declare  that,  inasmuch  as  we  have  for  good  reasons  invited 
Martin   Luther  of  the   Augustinian  Order  hither  to  Worms,  we 


.320)  F'.AI,,  i>.  I.sii  f. :  KDA.  p.  I.'^n  f . :  SC,  1,  r, if).— This  letter  shows 
lliat  Alcandcr  liad  kept  liiin>^«If  closely  iiifoniKd  on  Liitliri's  activities 
(Inrinp  liis  jouiiiey;  for  reports  of  iniraclcs  tiiat  had  occurred  on  that 
journey   were   currmt    at   thi'   time. 

.330)  .Mthouph  he  had  been  crowned  at  .\ix,  Charles  still  calls  himself 
"elected"  Roman  Kiiiperor.  because  he  had  not  yet  been  crowned  by  the 
Pope,  which   was  done  at  Bologna  in   February,   1530,  SC,   1,  482. 

331)  This  title  was  assumed  by  tlie  emperors  to  show  their  zeal  for 
increasing  the  imperial  territory  (Mchrcr  dcs  Reichs).  It  was  recently 
applied  to  Francis  Joseph  on  his  annexation  of  T'.osnia  and  Herzegovina. 
For  the  same  reason  the  title  ".\ugustus"  was  assumed  by  Philip  of  France, 
because  he  thought  it  was  derived  from  augco,  and  indicated  that  he  had 
enlarged    the    kingdom,    SC,    1,    182. 

332)  Reckoned  from  the  day  on  which  the  herald  handed  Luther  the 
summons,   March    27. 

333)  XV,  1786  f.;  EB,  3,  101  f . ;  SC,  1,  482  f. 


152  THE  CITATION   TO   WORMS. 

have  to  that  end  given  and  promised  to  him  our  and  the  Holy 
Empire's  free  and  straight  safe-conduct,  and  by  virtue  of  our 
imperial  Majesty  we  pubHsh  this  fact  by  means  of  this  letter. 
Accordingly,  within  one-and-twenty  days  after  the  delivery  of 
this  letter,  he  is  to  come  hither  to  Worms,  and  there  await  our 
and  the  Diet's  action,  and  then  to  return  hence  to  his  safe  place 
uninjured  and  unhindered  by  us  and  by  all  men.  By  this  letter 
we  earnestly  command  all  Electors  and  Princes,  spiritual  and 
temporal.  Prelates.  Counts,  Barons,  Lords,  Knights  and  their 
attendants.  Captains,  Provosts,  Bailiffs,  Wardens,  Lieutenants, 
Officers,  Judges,  Burgomasters,  Justices,  Counselors,  Citizens 
and  Commons,  and  all  other  our  and  the  Empire's  loyal  sub- 
jects in  whatever  office,  station,  or  condition  they  may  be,  and 
desire  that  they  maintain  inviolate  this  safe-conduct  for  the 
said  Martin  Luther,  to  escort  him,  and  have  him  escorted,  on 
his  journey  hither  and  back;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they 
do  not  injure  or  grieve  him,  nor  permit  any  one  else  to  do  so 
in  any  way,  under  pain  of  our  and  the  Empire's  severe  dis- 
pleasure and  punishment.  This  letter  gives  notice  of  our  earnest 
purpose. 

Given  in  our  and  the  Empire's  city  of  Worms,  on  the  sixth 
day  of  March,  1521,  in  the  second  year  of  our  reign  as  Emperor 
and  in  the  sixth  of  our  other  sovereignties. 

Charles. 

Signed  at  the  command  of  the  Lord  Emperor :  Albert  Car- 
dinal of  Mayence,  Arch-Chancellor,  with  his  own  hand. 

Nicholas  Ziegler.334) 

Duke  George  had  added  a  safe-conduct  of  his  own,  dated 
March  8,  "inasmuch  as  Doctor  Martin's  journey  for  a  part 
of  the  way  wnll  be  through  our  duchy,"  and  "in  order  that  he 
may  arrive  here  the  more  speedily. ''^•^^)  Elector  Frederick 
and  Duke  John  issuerl  a  safe-conduct  March  12,  in  terms  of 
the  imperial  documcnt.^-'^'^  and  the  Elector  added  a  letter, 
dated  March  11  : — 

In  the  name  of  God  !  Greeting.  Honorable,  reverend,  and 
learned,  dear  and  pious  Sir!  We  graciously  inform  you  that 
His  Imperial  Majesty  has  requested  us  also  to  provide  you  with 
a  safe-conduct.  We  send  you  herewith  a  written  safe-conduct 
addressed  to  the  officers,  cities,  and  other  subjects  of  our  brother 


334)  XV,  1787  ff. ;  EB,  3.  102  ff. ;  SC,  1,  483  f.— The  safe-conduct 
was  formulated  by  Chievres.  Varillarius,  De  Ediic.  Prindpis,  Lib.  VI,  fin., 
and    Seckcndorf,    T,   89,    p.    147. 

335)  XV,  1790  f.;  EH,  3,  lOS  f. 

330)    XV,   17S9    f.;    EB,   3,  110  f.;   FNU,  p.   64. 


"TttE  CITATION   TO   WORMS.  153 

and  oiii'sclf,  cHrcctins  them  to  provide  you  and  those  who  will 
be  with  you  with  suflieient  escort  throuj^h  our  dominions.  His 
Imperial  Majesty  also  sends  you  a  safe-conduct,  and  writes 
you  as  you  will  learn.  We  would  not  conceal  this  from  you, 
for  we  are  graciously  inclined  to  you.-^**''') 

At  the  same  time  the  h'lector  instnicled  his  c()unseh)rs 
at  Wittenberg,  Heinrich  von  Einsiedehi  and  Christoph  von 
Taubenheim,  to  see  to  it  that  the  imperial  herald,  during 
his  passage  through  the  Klector's  country,  "be  not  grieved 
by  words,  or  acts,  or  in  otlier  ways;  to  appoint  assistants 
for  him,  if  he  shouhl  request  any.  or  if  such  should,  (o  the 
counselors,  appear  necessary,  and  to  ex])e(hte  his  l)usiness 
in  every  way."-'-""'^^ 

Luther  had  received  advance  information  of  his  j)ossibie 
citation  from  Spalatin,  who  had  sent  him  also  Glapion's 
exceptions  to  his  writings  that  had  been  submitted  at  the 
conferences  with  Brueck.-'"'^^  Luther  answers  his  friend 
March  19:— 

I  have  received  the  articles  they  ask  me  to  recant,  with  the 
list  of  things  they  want  me  to  do.  Doubt  not  that  I  shall  re- 
cant nothing,  as  I  see  that  they  rely  on  no  other  argument  than 
that  I  have  written  (as  they  pretend)  against  the  usages  and 
customs  of  the  Church.  I  shall  answer  the  Emperor  Charles 
that  if  I  am  summoned  solely  for  the  sake  of  recantation.  I 
shall  not  come,  seeing  that  it  is  all  the  same  as  if  1  had  gone 
thither  and  returned  here.  For  I  can  recant  just  as  well  here 
if  that  is  their  only  business.  But  if  he  wishes  to  sununon  me 
to  be  slain,  and  to  hold  me  as  an  enemy  of  the  Empire  for  such 
an  answer,  T  shall  offer  to  go.  I  will  not  flee,  Christ  helpiui.' 
me.  nor  abandon  His  Word  in  the  battle.  I  am  assuredly  con- 
vinced that  those  bloody  men  will  never  rest  until  they  slay  me. 
I  wish,  however,  if  it  were  possible,  that  none  Imt  Papists  should 
be  guilty  of  my  blood.  We  are  plainly  turned  heathen  again 
as  we  were  before  Christ,  so  firmly  does  Antichrist,  that  arch- 
trickster,  hold  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  captive  in  his  hand. 
The  Lord's  will  be  done.  Meanwhile  advise  whomsoever  ynu 
can  not  to  take  part  in  this  council  of  the  ungodly.  .  .  ?^^^ 


■p.?,:)  XXIa,  342:   ET'..  r>.  110;  SC.  1.492  f. 

3.38)  FNU.  p.  G4. 

339)  See    Appendix. 

340)  XV.  1724   f.;   ET^,  3,   113;   Sf,,  p.   110. 


154  THE  CITATION  TO  WORMS. 

The  calm  resolution  which  this  letter  breathes,  to  die 
rather  than  to  yield  an  inch  to  the  Romanists,  is  reflected 
in  two  letters  which  Luther  wrote  a  few  days  later.  In  both 
these  letters,  moreover,  he  seeks  to  transfer  his  own  spirit 
to  the  mind  of  his  friends.  The  one  is  the  letter  to  his  friend 
Nicholas  Hausmann  of  March  22,  who  had  been  called  to  a 
pastorate  at  Zwickau  and  had  asked  Luther's  advice.  This 
letter  was  reviewed  in  a  previous  chapter.^^^)  The  other 
letter,  written  on  Palm  Sunday,  March  24,  was  addressed 
to  a  correspondent  whose  identity  is  in  doubt. -^^-^ 

Greeting:  "I  do  not  write  you"?  It  is  your  fault,  reverend 
father.  Yon  are  committing  a  twofold  sin :  first,  because  you 
have  written  me  but  once  yourself ;  secondly,  because  you  have 
not  sent  a  messenger  who  might  carry  a  letter  to  you ;  and 
where  could  I,  who  am  hidden  away  in  this  corner  of  the  world, 
find  a  messenger?  I  do  write  you;  and  now  I  ask  you  also, 
together  with  your  people,  to  pray,  not  for  me,  but  for  the 
Word  of  God.  For  I  am  unconcerned  about  myself,  though 
many  thousands — it  is  wonderful  to  relate ! — have  become  guilty 
of  the  warm  blood  that  is  still  coursing  in  me.  And  that  most 
holy  adversary  of  Christ,  the  principal  instigator  and  teacher 
of  murderers,  exerts  his  utmost  strength  to  destroy  me.  Amen. 
The  Lord's  will  be  done.  My  Christ  will  give  me  the  spirit  to 
despise  these  servants  of  Satan  while  I  am  living,  and  to  con- 
quer them  when  I  am  dying. — You  are  not  sending  your  brother 
Peter  any  money,  as  he  tells  me ;  see  that  you  provide  for  him. 
There  are  no  news  from  here.  You  wrote  that  all  my  writings 
were  sold  in  your  place.  Moreover,  you  are  informed  sooner 
than  I  of  the  discussions  at  Worms  concerning  myself.  They 
are  working  for  my  recantation  of  ;nany  articles;  but  my  re- 
cantation will  be  this :  Formerly  I  said  that  the  Pope  is  the 
vicegerent  of  Christ.  I  now  recant  and  say:  The  Pope  is  the 
adversary  of  Christ  and  an  apostle  of  the  devil.  I  am  com- 
pelled to  do  this  by  that  perfectly  abominable  and  blasphemous 
bull  by  which  they  manifestly  condemn  Christ.343) 

Luther,  then,  had  calmly  surveyed  the  precarious  situa- 
tion confronting-  him:  he  risked  his  life  by  obeying  a  citation 
to  the  Diet;   for  if  he  refused  to  recant  his  teaching,  the 


341)  See  chapter  10  in  this  book,  at  the  end  of  thechapter. 

342)  The    supposition    of    Vesemneyer    that    the    addressee  Lang    at 
Erfurt  is  untenable,  because  of  the  opening  words  of  the  letter. 

343)  XXIa,   345;    EB,   3,   IIC  f. 


THE  CITATION   TO   WORMS.  155 

Diet  might  decree  that  he  had  incurred  the  i)cnalty  (Uic  a 
heretic.  Having  been  denounced  as  a  lieretic,  he  was  not 
even  protected  by  the  safe-conduct ;  for  according  to  the  pa- 
pistic teaching  then  in  force,  no  promise  made  to  a  heretic 
was  vaHd.  Chancellor  Brueck,  by  the  way,  called  attention 
to  this  fact  at  Worms  while  the  citation  and  the  safe-con- 
duct were  being  prepared. 

On  the  other  hand,  Luther  had  conscientiously  to  weigh 
the  possibility  of  a  quasi  recantation  of  some  matters  that 
he  had  written.  During  the  debates  in  committees  of  the 
Diet  and  in  the  sessions  of  the  Diet  a  distinction  liad  been 
drawn  not  infrequently  between  heresies  and  "other  points 
and  matters."  True,  the  speakers  that  drew  this  distinc- 
tion were  not  clear  as  to  what  constitutes  heresy,  but  their 
distinction  showed  plainly  that  they  were  far  from  yielding 
to  Rome's  demand  for  a  peremptory  and  indiscriminate  re- 
jection of  all  teachings  of  Luther.  The  party  that  made  this 
distinction  came  to  be  the  majority  party  in  the  Diet,  and 
this  party  wrested  from  a  powerful  and  unwilling  minority 
its  consent  to,  or  acquiescence  in,  the  citation  of  Luther. 
They  possibly  wanted  Luther  when  at  Worms  to  yield  a  few 
things,  in  order  that  the  "other  points  and  matters,"  chiefly 
the  grievances  of  the  German  nation,  might  then  be  debated 
in  the  plenum  of  the  Diet.  They  also  spoke  of  calling  a 
general  council  of  the  Church  and  scouted  papal  absolutism. 
Even  Gattinara  was  heard  to  express  the  conviction  that  tlic 
pending  trouble  could  never  be  settled  without  such  a  council. 

Luther's  statements  in  these  letters  before  his  departure 
for  Worms:  "I  shall  not  recant!"  were  made  with  a  clear 
perception  of  the  two  possibilities  of  death  or  a  compromise 
before  him.  He  waives  compromise  and  chooses  death. 
Happilv,  when  the  citation  arrived,  Luther  found  that  it 
did  not  demand  a  simple  recantation  of  him.  Accordingly, 
his  mind  was  promptly  made  up  to  obey  the  summons. 
While  the  Elector  was  still  questioning  whether  he  would 


156  THE   PROFESSOR   CLEARS    HIS   DESK. 

come,   ^^'*)    Luther   on    Good    Friday,   March   29,    wrote   his 
friend  Lang  at  Erfurt: — 

Next  Thursday  or  Friday  I  will  lodge  with  you,  reverend 
Father,  with  the  imperial  herald  who  summons  me  to  Worms, 
unless  it  is  dangerous  for  me  to  enter  Erfurt,  or  some  unknown 
chance  prevents.  Then  I  shall  speak  more  fully.  Otherwise 
you  will  certainly  find  me  at  Eisenach  on  Saturday.  Thanks 
for  the  gold  piece  you  sent  me.^^^) 


18.  The  Professor  Clears  His  Desk. 

Luther  required  one  week  to  get  ready  for  his  journey. 
On  Maundy  Thursday,  March  28,  he  preached  a  sermon  on 
the  True  Worthiness  of  Communicants,  which  was  printed 
seven  times  between  1521  and  1523.^^^^  There  is  no  allu- 
sion, not  even  a  remote  and  indirect  one,  to  the  events  im- 
mediately before  him.  With  the  utter  self-forgetfulness  and 
self-effacement  of  a  truly  great  mind,  Luther,  preaching 
without  a  text,  lays  before  his  hearers  thirteen  logically 
well-connected  propositions  to  explain  who  may  and  who 
may  not  go  to  communion,  what  is  and  what  is  not  a  proper 
motive  for  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  what  does 
and  what  does  not  constitute  true  worthiness  on  the  part  of 
the  communicant.  It  is  a  brief,  pithy,  meaty  sermon,  one 
of  the  best  that  he  preached  on  the  subject. 

The  Sacrament,  he  explains,  is  not  for  manifest  and  ha- 
bitual sinners,  nor  for  such  as  consider  communing  a  re- 
spectable conventionality,  nor  for  such  as  come  to  the  Table 
of  the  Lord  under  the  slave's  whip  of  the  Pope's  decree ;  but 
only  for  such  as  hunger  and  thirst  for  the  grace  of  God 
and  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins.  Faith  in  the  redemption 
wrought  by  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  nothing  else, 
makes  a  person  a  worthy  communicant.     Basing  his  perora- 


.344)  On  March  25  the  Elector  wrote  to  his  brother  John:  "Doctor 
Martin  has  been  summoned  hither;  but  whether  he  will  come.  T  flon't 
know."  The  same  statement  he  makes  in  a  letter  of  April  8,  FNIT,  I,  p. 
13,   14. 

34'))    XXIa,  34G;   EB,  3,  118;   SC,  1,  504. 

346)   XII,   1354,   note. 


THE    TROFESSOK    CLEARS    HIS    DESK.  157 

tioii  on  Matt.  11,  28:  "Cuiiic  unto  Mc,  all  yc  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  Luther  closes  his 
impressive  address  with  these  words: — 

Vou  must  not  think  that  the  Savior  is  speaking  of  physical 
labors  and  burdens ;  for  He  helps  only  the  souls.  Therefore 
these  words  must  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  labor  and 
burden  of  the  conscience,  wliich  is  nothing  else  than  the  dis- 
tressing consciousness  of  sins  that  we  have  committed,  and  of 
our  daily  frailties  and  our  proneness  to  sin.  All  who  are  thus 
luirdened  Christ  does  not  drive  from  Him,  as  those  do  who 
insist  that  when  going  to  communion  you  must  be  pure  and 
worthy;  nor  does  He  issue  a  law,  or  coerce  any  one;  but  He 
lovingly  coaxes  and  urges  all  who  are  sinners  and  feel  their 
l)urden  to  come,  if  they  desire  to  be  helped.  You  must  not  re- 
gard the  venerable  Sacrament  as  a  prison,  but  as  a  soul-remedy, 
in  accordance  with  Christ's  own  words.  Matt.  9,  12:  "They  that 
be  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick."  The 
important  point  in  this  business  is  that  you  know  and  feel  your 
labor  and  burden,  and  that  you  heartily  desire  to  be  rid  of 
them.  See,  that  is  what  being  worthy  of  the  Sacrament  means. 
However,  the  majority  of  communicants  come  to  the  Sacra- 
ment without  such  understanding:  they  bring  with  them  a 
hungry  stomach  and  a  surfeited  soul ;  they  take  the  Sacrament, 
but  make  no  use  of  it :  they  do  not  know  why  they  commune, 
except  that  from  fear  and  with  an  unwilling  heart  they  obey 
the  law  of  the  Church,  thus  rendering  themselves  altogether 
unworthy  of  the  Sacrament.  Woe  to  all  teachers  who  not  only 
are  silent  as  regards  the  use  and  power  of  the  holy  Sacrament, 
but  also  hinder  the  same  with  their  senseless  driving  and  writ- 
ing!    God  deliver  us  from  all  such.     Amen.^^T) 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  sermon  within  two  years  was 
l)ublished  in  so  many  editions:  it  is  a  splendid  comnumion 
tract. 

A  painful  surprise  was  served  Luther  on  this  Holy 
Thursday  at  Rome:  the  Pope  included  him  in  the  bull  Cocna 
Domini.  Luther,  however,  did  not  hear  of  this  fact  until 
several  months  later.  Following  the  custom  established  for 
Maundy  Thursday  by  his  predecessors  to  curse  and  damn  all 
heretics  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son.  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.  I. CO  X.  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  bull,  branded  as 


347)   XII,    1354-61. 


158  THE  PROFESSOR  CLEARS  HIS  DESK. 

apostates  from  the  faith  "the  Gasarans,  the  Paterones,  the 
Poor  of  Lyons,  the  Arnoldists,  the  Speronists,  the  Passa- 
girians,  the  Wiclifites,  the  Hussites,  the  Fratricelli,  and  Mar- 
tin Luther,  recently  condemned  for  like  heresy,  together  with 
all  his  followers,  and  those  protecting  him  against  punish- 
ment."^^^)  Luther's  reply  to  this  latest  piece  of  papal  mad- 
ness belongs  to  a  later  period. 

During  the  year  before  his  journey  to  Worms  Luther 
had  endeared  himself  to  the  family  of  the  Elector's  brother, 
Duke  John  and  his  son  Duke  John  Frederick,  who  was 
destined  to  play  such  a  pathetic  part  in  the  development  of 
the  Reformation.^'*^)  Duke  John  had  early  become  an  ardent 
admirer  of  Luther  and  had  placed  his  son  under  the  tutor- 
ship of  Luther's  friend,  Spalatin,  Elector  Frederick's  private 
secretary .^^^)  At  the  time  of  the  events  here  narrated  the 
elder  Duke  was  fifty-two,  and  his  son  eighteen  years  old. 
To  Duke  John,  who  had  frequently  expressed  a  wish  that  he 
might  be  honored  with  one  of  Luther's  writings,  the 
Reformer  had  in  1520  dedicated  one  of  his  best  doctrinal 
treatises,  the  Sermon  on  Good  Works.  As  if  to  prepare  the 
Duke  for  the  leadership  which  he  assumed  five  years  later  in 
the  refomatory  movement,  Luther  explained  to  him  the 
relation  between  faith  and  works,  believing  and  doing. 

In  his  dedicatory  letter  of  March  29,  1520,  Luther  states 
that  he  has  been  encouraged  to  offer  this  treatise  to  the  Duke 
by  the  kind  reception  which  his  brother,  the  Elector,  has  given 


348)  XV,   1797. 

349)  Elector  Frederick  the  Wise  of  Ernestine  Saxony  (1463-May  5, 
1525)  had  a  brother  by  the  name  of  John  (the  Steadfast,  1468-August  16, 
1532).  Duke  John  succeeded  the  Elector,  who  died  without  heirs.  Duke 
John's  son  was  John  Frederick  (1503-54),  who  succeeded  his  fatlier  as 
Elector  in  1532.  In  the  Smalcaldic  War  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
Protestants  he  was  defeated  and  captured  at  the  battle  of  Muchlberg,  April 
24,  1547,  and  kept  a  prisoner  for  five  years.  His  electoral  vote,  together 
with  Wittenberg  and  the  surrounding  country,  was  given  to  Maurice  of 
Albertine   Saxony. 

350)  ITis  original  name  was  George  Burckhardt ;  he  was  born  at  Spalt 
(1484-January  16,  1545),  hence  always  known  as  Spalatin.  He  was  one 
of  Euther's  best  friends,  to  whom  more  of  his  letters  are  addressed  than  to 
any  other  person.  He  had  studied  at  Erfurt,  1498-1502,  when  he  went  to 
Wittenberg.  Here  he  first  learned  to  know  Euther.  About  1513  he  was 
made  chaplain  to  Frederick  the  Wise,  whose  trusted  confidant  he  was  until 
the  Elector's  death.  In  1525  he  married,  and  was  appointed  pastor  of  a 
church  at  Altcnburg,  where  he  lived  the  rest  of  his  life.     SC,  1,  27, 


THE   TROFESSOR  CLEARS   HIS  DESK,  159 

to  another  treatise  of  Luther,  the  Tcsscradckas.^^'^^  The  Sermon 
on  Good  Works,  Luther  says,  was  intended  for  simple  laymen, 
whose  spiritual  training  Luther  declares  to  be  his  principal  ob- 
ject. Many,  he  says,  are  speaking  contemptuously  of  his  in- 
tellectual poverty,  because  he  seems  to  be  able  to  produce  only 
little  tracts  and  German  sermons  for  common  people.  But  this 
criticism  shall  not  grieve  iiim ;  he  will  thank  God  if  with  his 
entire  life-work  and  all  his  strength  he  can  improve  a  single 
layman.  He  will  gladly  leave  the  honor  of  greater  achievements 
to  others.  Nevertheless,  he  believes  himself  more  capable  of 
equaling  his  detractors  in  the  production  of  great  tomes  than 
they  are  of  producing  a  little  sermon  equal  to  his  own. 

Luther  believes  that  there  is  special  need  of  discussing  the 
subject  of  good  works  for  the  benelit  of  laymen,  because  in  no 
other  matter  are  laymen  duped,  deceived,  and  misled  more 
frequently  than  in  this,  and  neither  gold  nor  diamonds  suffer  as 
much  counterfeiting  as  good  works.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  need  of  showing  that  nothing  is  detracted  from  the  true  worth 
of  good  works  by  Luther's  doctrine  of  faith  and  of  the  right- 
eousness by  faith  ;  on  the  contrary,  faith  is  to  be  the  very  means 
of  restoring  works  to  their  genuine  worth.  Luther  feels  that 
he  must  meet  those  who  assert  that  he  prohibits  good  works, 
and  he  hopes  that  this  treatise  may  become  the  best  that  he 
has  so  far  written. 

The  Sermon  on  Good  Works  is  nothing  less  than  a  sum- 
•  mary  of  Christian  ethics.  Its  scope  is  the  delineation  of  Chris- 
tian living.  It  is,  however,  shot  through  with  earnest  polemics 
against  the  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  who  are  craftily  deceiv- 
ing the  poor  laymen ;  against  ordinances  of  the  Church  that 
hinder  and  corrupt  true  morality,  and  are  not  a  salutary  dis- 
cipline at  all.  as  they  purpose  to  ])e ;  and  lastly,  against  the 
worldliness.  immoralities,  and  corruptions  that  are  sapping  the 
moral  strength  of  the  nations,  and  of  individuals  in  high  and 
in  low  estate. 

The  two  basic  theses  of  Luther's  argument  are  these:  Only 
such  are  good  works  as  God  has  commanded,  and :  The  pri- 
mary and  greatest  work  is  faith  in  Christ,  which  Jesus  Him- 
self, in  John  6,  29.  calls  the  work  of  God.  Every  single  work, 
says  Luther,  must  lie  done  in  faith  ;  all  goodness  of  men  flows 
from  faith,  A  person  has  faith  while  engaged  in  these  works, 
when  his  heart  rests  in  the  assurance  that  what  he  does  is 
pleasing  to  God.  Where  there  is  no  faith,  there  is  no  good 
conscience,   and   men's   works   in   that   case  are   without   a  head 


351)     DGR,  p.   23.3. 


160  THE  PROFESSOR  CLEARS  HTS  DESK. 

and  their  goodness  is  nil.  It  is  on  account  of  a  person's  faitli 
that  his  works  are  good,  even  though  they  were  as  paltry  a  thing 
as  picking  up  a  straw.  Being  related  to  faith,  they  are  all 
equally  good,  just  as  in  a  body  all  members  are  equally  vitalized 
and  energized  from  the  head.  As  yet,  however,  men's  faith 
is  feeble.  Amidst  the  ills  of  life,  when  God  seems  angry  at  us, 
everything  depends  on  our  keeping  up  our  confidence  in  His 
grace  and  good  pleasure.  Even  in  our  severest  afflictions,  when 
God  seems  ready  to  consign  us  to  eternal  reprobation,  we  must 
expect  from  Him  nothing  but  goodness  and  mercy.  Work- 
mongers  have  no  conception  of  this. 

Faith,  Luther  continues,  is  the  work  or  fulfilment  of  the 
first  of  the  Ten  Commandments;  to  have  a  God  means,  above 
all,  to  trust  in  Him  and  His  mercy  with  the  whole  heart.  Such 
faith  engenders  love  and  hope  :  I  trust  God  when  I  consider  that 
He  is  graciously  inclined  to  me  and  loves  me,  and  that  makes 
me  love  Him  in  turn.  In  Luther's  view,  faith  is  not  merely  a 
concomitant  feature  of  works,  but  all  works  flow  from  faith. 
Yea,  even  when  we  are  not  active,  but  idle,  our  leisure  must  be 
an  exercise  and  work  of  faith ;  faith  itself  can  never  be  idle. 
Because  of  this  faith,  Luther  declares  believers  inwardly  free 
from  laws  and  ceremonies  by  which  men  are  coerced  into  doing 
good  works.  If  everybody  had  faith,  such  laws  would  not  be 
needed.  Good  works  in  that  case  would  not  be  prohibited ;  on 
the  contrary,  everybody  would  spontaneously  do  good  works  all 
the  time.  The  liberty  of  faith  is  not  license  to  sin,  but  it  is  a 
liberty  to  engage  in  all  sorts  of  works,  and  to  suffer  whatever 
may  occur  to  us.  No  believer  is  restricted  to  one  or  several 
particular  works  (like  the  monks).  However,  we  must  not 
despise  those  who  are  still  children  in  their  knowledge  of  what 
faith  is,  and  who  need  these  external  ordinances,  but  must  bear 
with  them  and  not  cause  them  offense.  If  the  question  is 
raised  how  a  person,  in  view  of  his  occasional  slips  and  tres- 
passings,  can  be  certain  that  his  works  are  pleasing  to  God, 
Luther's  answer  is :  Faith  will  rise  again  ;  for  we  have  an  Ad- 
vocate with  God,  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  propitiation  for  all 
our  sins. 

Lastly  Luther  arrives  at  the  point  of  primary  importance: 
"Whence  does  this  faith  and  confidence  come,  and  how  can  it 
l)e  obtained?"  The  assurance  that  God  is  gracious  to  us  Luther 
derives  solely  from  Christ,  and  from  the  love  He  has  shown 
us.  The  faith  which  must  accompany  all  works  to  render 
them  good  does  not  by  any  means  spring  from  man's  works,  or 
from  the  merits  of  his  works, — hence,  is  not  a  work  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term,  namely,  something  that  man  does, — 
but    "it   must    well    up    and    flow    from    the   blood,    the    wounds 


THE    PROFESSOR    n.EARS    TTTS    DESK.  161 

and  the  dying  of  Christ,  in  whoni  you  behold  that  (jod  so 
loves  you  that  He  gives  His  only  Son  for  you.  That  must 
sweeten  your  heart  and  make  you  love  Him  in  return.  Nowhere 
do  we  read  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  given  to  any  one  while  he 
was  engaged  in  works,  hut  in  every  instance  it  happened  while 
men  were  hearing  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  of  the  mercy  of 
God.  From  that  word,  and  from  nothing  else,  faith  must 
spring  even  to-day  and  at  all  times." 

This  is  Luther's  trend  of  thought  in  the  first  and  funda- 
mental part  of  this  treatise.  Luther  has  here  deposited  the 
cream  of  his  spiritual  knowledge.  This  treatise  was  his  first 
exhaustive  exposition  in  German  of  the  relation  of  faith  to 
works.  In  Luther's  conception  the  entire  ethical  life  of  a 
person,  and  its  every  activity,  even  his  moments  of  leisure, 
must  rest  essentially  on  the  reconciliation  by  Christ  and  the 
perception  of  God's  love  in  that  redeeming  act.  Thence  comes 
the  impulse  for  every  activity  that  is  pleasing  to  God,  thence 
a  person's  good  conscience,  which  a  Christian  may  and  must 
possess  in  all  that  he  does,  Ijecause  that  is  the  factor  which 
makes  his  works  counters  in  God's  valuation,  and  enables  the 
Christian,  without  any  legal  coercion,  to  do  all  that  he  finds 
an    opportunity    for    doing. 

Tn  the  second  part  Luther  exhibits  the  operation  of  this 
principle  in  detail :  he  takes  up  each  commandment,  and 
explains    how    faith    handles    the    tasks    appointed    in    th em. •"'•'»- ^ 

This  sermon  became  the  means  of  establishing  a  solid' 
and  permanent  friendship  between  Duke  John  and  Luther. 
The  Duke  hencefortli  speaks  of  Luther  in  terms  of  affec- 
tion, and  his  son  venerates  Luther  like  a  father.  Elector 
Frederick  keeps  his  brother  supplied  with  Luther's  publica- 
tions: on  August  25,  1520,  he  sent  him  the  Appeal  to  the 
Christian  Nobility,^^'''^  from  Worms  he  writes  him  that 
he  is  pleased  to  learn  how  much  the  Duke  likes  Luther's 
books.-'^-''''^  Tt  hurts  Duke  John  keenly  that  Luther  must  sufifer 
such  relentless  persecution,  and  that  his  case  at  the  Diet 
seems  very  precarious. ■'••''••'*>  Mis  son  writes  Luther  a  con- 
solatory letter,"-'''''')  which  Luther  prizes  very  highly.  The- 
young  prince  assures  Luther  tliat  his  uncle,  tlie  Elector,  is. 


.352)  X.  1289-98;   KL,   T.   2S7-91. 

.^.-jS)  FNU.   T.  p.   2. 

.3.54)  FNU,  I,  p.   6. 

.355)  Letters  to  the   Klector  Jan.  28.      SC,   1.   44S. 

356)  XXIa,  32(5   f . ;    EB,   3,  22. 

DAU,     TRIBUNAL    OF    CAES.\R.  \\ 


162  THE  PROFESSOR  CLEARS   HIS   DESK, 

defending  him   at   Worms;   for   so  the   Elector   has  written 
him.*^^^) 

Duke  John  arrived  at  Worms  a  month  hiter  than  his 
brother,  and  when  it  had  been  settled  that  Luther  would  be 
cited  to  appear  before  the  Diet,  the  Duke  hastened  back  to 
his  residence  at  Weimar.  Wliile  at  Worms,  he  was  active 
in  Luther's  interest. 

While  clearing-  his  desk  preparatory  to  starting  for 
Worms,  Luther  had  the  pleasure  to  send  to  the  young  Duke 
John  Frederick  the  first  forms  of  his  Magnificat.  While  the 
wrangling  at  Worms  over  his  citation  was  at  its  height, 
during  the  last  days  in  February,  Luther  completed  the  first 
part  of  his  exposition  of  "the  spiritual,  pure,  salutary  hymn 
of  the  chaste  virgin,''  which  he  had  begun  towards  the  end 
of  the  preceding  year.  In  the  dedicatory  preface  he  says 
to  the  future  Saxon  ruler : — 

Princes  before  others  must  learn  that  they  can  achieve 
nothing,  even  M^ith  their  best  intentions,  unless  it  be  given  them 
by  God.  They  before  others  must  be  God-fearing  men.  But 
the  truth  is  that  their  power  and  glory  easily  make  them  pre- 
sumptuous and  cause  them  to  live  like  brutes  in  lusts  and 
wantonness,  and  to  perish  thus.  Now,  in  her  Magnificat  the 
blessed  Mother  of  God  sings  a  most  affecting  song  regarding 
the  fear  of  God ;  she  describes  what  sort  of  a  Lord  God  is,  and 
what  His  works  are  among  persons  of  high  or  low  estate.  In 
expatiating  on  this  subject,  Luther  wrote  from  the  fulness  of 
his  heart,  pouring  into  the  exposition  of  Mary's  Song  his 
experiences  during  the  last  three  years,  just  as,  he  says,  Mary 
had  done,  who  related  with  glowing  heart,  under  the  illuminat- 
ing and  instructing  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  her  lowliness 
and  her  glory.  Luther  proclaims  the  God  who  sits  enthroned 
on  high,  and  yet  beholds  those  of  low  estate.  Luther  pro- 
nounces blessings  on  the  person  who,  like  Mary,  in  the  depths 
of  misery,  trusts  in  this  God,  and  witnesses  with  sweet  wonder 
God's  working  in  his  heart,  which  ultimately  causes  him  to 
overflow  with  joy,  and  to  leap  and  dance  because  of  the 
delights  which  God  prepared  for  him.  Luther  exhorts  the 
prince  to  believe  in  God,  who  is  able  to  do  all  things,  and  tells 
him  that  in  this  way  he  will  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  God's 
working,  and  thereby  to  love  of  God,  and   will  begin  to  praise 


357)    Luther   to    Spalatin    Jan.    16.      XV,   2507;   EB,    3,    74;    SC,  1,  443. 


THE   PROFESSOR   CLEARS    HIS   DESK.  163 

and  magnify  God.  This,  however,  is  the  true  faith,  the  entire 
faith,  Luther  says,  when  the  heart  lovingly  clings  to  God  and 
continues  singing  His  praise  even  in  times  when  God  hides 
Himself  and  draws  in  the  hright  luster  of  His  goodness.  To 
be  satisfied  in  such  seasons  with  the  knowledge  that  God  is  still 
good,  and  not  to  seek  for  the  gratification  of  selfish  wishes,  that 
is  the  test  of  genuine  trust.  In  a  strong  current  of  inward  joy, 
and  repeating  the  rhythmic  loveliness  of  the  Virgin's  Hymn,  the 
exposition  of  Luther  flows  from  verse  to  verse,  without  a  note 
of  bitterness  and  passion,  even  in  those  sections  in  which  he 
expresses  pity  for  the  poor,  oft-deluded  people  and  warns 
them    against   false   preach ers.*^-''*^) 

What  a  contrast  between  the  serene  contentment  that 
reigns  in  this  professor's  study  and  the  pandemonium  of 
Jealousy  and  hatred  that  is  holding  a  carnival  in  the  ante- 
chambers of  Charles  V  and  the  lobby  of  the  Diet !  In  the 
preceding  account  of  the  Magnificat  portions  of  Luther's 
exposition  have  been  anticipated  for  the  sake  of  complete- 
ness. The  Exposition  was  completed  months  later,  during 
Luther's  exile  at  the  Wartburg.  In  sending  the  finished 
sheets  to  the  prince,  Luther  adds  a  letter  dated  March  31 : — 

I  have  received  Your  Grace's  letter  and  noted  its  contents, 
z'ic,  concerning  the  good  works  of  Christ,  and  concerning 
Christ's   sleep. 

Now  it  is  true,  as  Your  Grace  states,  that  we  read  but  once 
in  the  gospels  that  Christ  slept.  But  if  all  His  sleeping  had 
been  recorded,  what  a  book  would  have  to  be  written !  It  is 
sufficient  that  we  have  one  indication  that  in  this  respect  Christ 
was  a  natural,  true  man.  He  certainly  prayed,  fasted,  walked, 
preached,  and  performed  miracles  in  more  instances  than  arc 
recorded  in  the  gospels,  as  John,  in  the  last  chapter,  states: 
"These  arc  written  that  ye  might  believe."  ctc.^'''^">  Rut  it  is 
true  that  at  all  times  Jesus  did  what  pleased  the  Ivither.  The 
Father  was  pleased  with  His  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  and 
with  everything,  as  with  most  wondrous  works.  For  the  Father 
does  not  behold  merely  the  works,  but  the  will  expressed  by 
means  of  the  works,  as  T  have  explained  at  large  in  my  treatise 
on  Good  Works. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  on  the  cross  Christ 
prayed  aloud  the  entire  Twenty-second  Psalm :  "My  God. 
Mv  God,"  etc..  but  it  is  not  unchristian  so  t(^  believe.     This  is 


.358^   VTI,   1372-1445. 
359)  John  20,  31. 


164  THE  PROFESSOR  CLEARS  HIS  DESK.  * 

left  to  the  devotion  of  each ;  Scripture  does  not  determine  any- 
thing regarding  this  question ;  and  we  must  not  require  others 
to  believe  it. 

I  am  herewith  sending  Your  Grace  the  beginning  of  the 
Magnificat:  the  fourth  form  is  still  in  the  press.  I  have  to 
leave  the  work  as  it  is,  until  my  return ;  for,  as  your  Grace 
is  aware,  I  must  drop  everything,  having  been  summoned  to  the 
Diet.  If  by  the  grace  of  God  I  return  home,  Your  Grace  shall 
soon  have  the  rest.  T  commend  myself  to  Your  Grace,  whom  I 
commend  to  the  grace  of  God.^*^^) 

One  other  matter  remained  to  be  brought  to  a  conclu- 
sion. Ambrosius  Catharinus,^^^)  a  Dominican  friar,  had 
entered  the  lists  of  literary  champions  against  Luther  with 
a  ponderous  polemic  in  five  books. '^f'^^  On  February  15  this 
treatise  arrived  at  Worms,  and  we  noted  that  Glapion 
expressed  his  displeasure  with  it  in  his  conferences  with 
Brueck.  Aleander  presented  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Emperor 
with  fulsome  praise  of  the  author.  Luther  received  a  copy 
from  Link  at  Nuremberg^*^^')  on  March  7 ;  for  on  that  day 
he  writes  his  friend : — 


360)  XXIa,  346  f. 

361)  Lancelot  de"  Politi  of  Siena  (1484-1553)  studied  at  Siena,  where  he 
became  Dr.  jur.  utr.  at  seventeen.  Later  he  taught  here  and  in  1514  at 
Rome.  In  1515  he  was,  bv  Leo  X,  made  Consistorial  Advocate  at  Florence. 
Under  the  influence  of  Savonarola's  writings  he  entered  the  Dominican 
cloister  here  in  1517.  Lie  left  Florence  in  1521,  wandering  about,  until 
in  1532  he  came  to  Lyons,  then  to  Paris  and  1540-3  again  to  Lyons.  He 
took  an  important  part  in  the  Council  of  Trent  1546-9,  spending  the 
remaining  two  years  of  his  life  at  Rome.  He  wrote  a  good  deal,  chiefly 
against  Luther,  beginning  with  an  oration  to  Charles  V,  published  December 
20,    1520.      SC.    1,   485. 

362)  Ad  Carolum  Maxiiuum  Imperatorem  ct  Hispaniomm  Regent 
Fratris    Amhrosii    Catharini,    Ordiuis    Praedicatoruiu.    Apologia   pro    Veritate 

Catholicae    ct    Apostoiicae    Fidei    ac    Doctrinac:    adrcrsus    Impia    ac    Valdc 
Pcstifera  Martini  Lntheri  Dogmata. 

363)  Link  had  probably  received  the  copy  from  Scheurl,  who  writes 
to  Hector  Poemer  at  Wittenberg,  March  1  :  "Besides  the  writings  of  Emser 
and  Murner  there  was  brought  hither  the  Apology  of  Brother  Ambrose 
Catharinus  of  Florence.  I  believe  the  work  is  sufficiently  judged  by  the 
title  the  author  has  given  it.  He  is  of  the  preaching  fraternity.  He  has 
gone  far  afield  in  five  books;  rather,  he  has  filled  them  with  his  expectora- 
tions. He  has  made  a  collection  of  the  tricks  of  Martin,  and  by  spurious 
efforts  proves  Martin's  heresies,  slanders,  blasphemies,  and  senseless  docu- 
ments. He  firmly  establishes  on  the  rock  the  Pope's  and  council's  power, 
defends  the  decretals  against  the  charge  that  they  are  frigid  documents, 
but  in  such  a  manner  that  you  feel  his  defense  is  in  great  need  itself  oi 
more  heat.  He  lauds  Cajetan,  Aristotle,  Prierias,  and,  above  all,  the 
authority  of  Aquinas.  .  .  .  From  Holy  Writ  he  has  gleaned  very  little;  he 
does  not  refute  one  small  line  of  Luther  by  .Scripture;  he  talks  for  every- 
thing, but  convinces  one  at  no  point;  he  fawns,  he  reviles,  he  jokes.  His 
product  is  as  nude  of  sense  as  the  nudest,  and  smells  quite  after  Silvester, 
so  that  I  am  sorry  for  the  misfortune  of  the  Italians,  as  whose  chami)ion 
he  acts.      I  greatly  pity  this  wretched  simpleton."     EB,  3,  165. 


THE    rKOFESSOK    CLEARS    II  IS    DESK.  1C5 

Good  God,  What  a  hodge-podge  from  this  perfectly  insipid 
Thomist  Catharinus !  I  shall  briefly  reply  to  him,  using  at  the 
highest  four  printer's  forms364) 

To  Spalatin  Luther  wrote  on  the  same  day: — 
At    last    Ambrosius    Catharinus    has    arrived    from    Nurem- 
berg.     Good    Heavens,    what    an    inept,    stupid    Thomist!      He 
almost  kills  us  tirst  with  laughing,  then  with  boredom.     1    shall 
answer  him  briefly  and  thus  move  the  Italian  beast's  bile.-"^"''''^ 

On  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  Worms  Luther  finished 
his  reply  to  Catharinus. 

He  tells  his  opponent  that  he  comes  much  ton  late  to  be  of 
any  use  in  the  pending  controversy.  Luther  admits  contradictions 
in  his  previous  writings  on  indulgences,  on  the  Pope,  on  the 
Canon  Law,  on  church  councils,  and  in  his  controversies  with 
the  theologians  of  Louvain  and  other  universities ;  but  he 
reminds  Catharinus  that  all  these  errors  have  been  recanted  in 
his  treatise  on  the  Babylonian  Capikity  and  in  his  Defense 
(Assertio)  of  All  the  Articles  Condemned  by  the  Pope.  The 
question,  he  says,  is  no  longer  whether  the  Pope  amounts  to 
anything.  That  question  has  been  settled.  The  other  question 
too,  I'iz.,  what  the  Pope  is,  has  been  finally  answered,  thus : 
He  is  Antichrist.  Tt  remains  only  to  gain  universal  aceptance 
for  this  answer;  and  that,  too.  will  soon  be  accomplished. 

However,  lest  Catharinus  have  spent  his  labor  in  vain, 
Luther  wants  to  treat  the  second  question  once  more.  In  the 
first  place,  he  argues,  the  Rock  (Matt.  16.  16)  on  which  the 
Church  is  built,  is  neither  the  Pope,  nor  the  Church  of  Rome, 
nor  Peter,  but  Christ  alone.  The  Church,  therefore,  is  in  its 
essence  a  spiritual  and  invisible  body.  Next,  Luther  explodes 
the  specious  objections  of  the  Romanists :  "If  the  Church 
is  invisible,  it  will  be  impossible  to  locate  it.  The  Pope,  accord- 
ingly, is  needed  to  indicate  the  place  where  the  Church  is  to 
be  found."  Luther  argues :  The  Church  is  not  restrictc-d  to 
certain  localities  or  persons,  although  it  cannot  l)c  cither 
without  locations  or  persons  constituting  it.  The  gospels  and 
the  Sacraments  arc  the  criteria  of  the  Church.  Wherever  these 
arc  administered,  there  faith  is  created  and  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace  established.  A  pope  that  would 
preach  the  Gospel  would  be  a  successor  to  Peter:  a  pope  who 
fails  in  this   is  a  Judas,   a  traitor  to  Christ. 

Still.  Luther  does  not  want  to  be  understood  as  asserting 
that  there  is  no  papistic  church,  nor  that  it  is  without  authority. 


364)    X\',    2497;    KB.    ?,.    104. 

36.'))    X\',    2499:    ET.,    3.    106;    SC.    1.    4S5. 


166  THE  PROFESSOR  CLEARS  HIS  DESK. 

For  concerning  no  one,  Christ  alone  excepted,  has  Scripture 
in  both  Testaments  so  fully  testified  both  power  and  dominion 
as  concerning  the  Pope.  And  now  Luther  expounds  for  the 
enlightenment  of  Catharinus  the  classic  passages  of  Scripture 
concerning  Antichrist,  Dan.  8;  2  Thess.  2,  3  ff. ;  2  Pet.  2,  1  ff. ; 
and  the  Epistle  of  Jude.^^^) 

Catharinus  wrote  several  replies,  but  Luther  ignored 
them.  This  treatise  against  Catharinus  Luther  sent  to  Link 
with  the  following  dedicatory  letter,  dated  April  1 : — 

Behold,  Wenceslaus,  my  worthy  brother  in  Christ,  here  you 
have  your  Ambrose  Catharinus,  this  noble  first-fruit  from  far- 
famed  Italy.  Verily,  he  is  an  exceedingly  fine  finisher  of  the 
Epitome  which  Prierias  began-^^"^)  You  will  say.  What  shall 
I  do  with  this  coarse  fool?  You  might  apply  to  him  the  words 
of  the  poet,  There  is  not  a  grain  of  salt  in  his  whole  body. 
I  answer.  Why,  then,  did  you  send  him  to  me?  Why  did 
you  not  throw  him  into  the  Pegnitz^^^)  or  into  the  fire?  If 
you  had  done  that,  I  should  not  have  spent  many  hours  uselessly 
reading  him.  Yea,  I  should  have  derived  more  benefit  from 
attending  a  juggler's  show,  or  joining  a  good  companion  at 
an  inn,  than  from  almost  killing  myself  in  an  effort  to  obtain 
a  survey  of  this  wishy-washy  and  blasphemous  Thomist.  Hence, 
in  order  to  get  my  revenge  of  you,  you  have  to  have  him  returned 
to  you,  in  order  that  you  may  send  no  more  horrible  abomina- 
tions of  this  kind  to  me,  as  though  we  had  not  enough  of  such 
madcaps  as  Eck,  Emser,  and  the  innumerable  pack  of  sophists 
in  Germany.  Have  a  care  to  throw  no  more  such  dirt  from 
Endor  at  me,  or  I  shall  swear  by  the  wisdom  of  Catharinus 
that  it  shall  be  thrown  back  at  you  until  it  finally  sticks  to 
you,  or  disappears  in  the  process  of  being  thrown  back  and 
forth. 

Ah,  you  laugh  and  imagine  that  I  am  joking  with  you? 
Would  to  God  that  the  insane  wisdom  of  this  Italian,  which 
deserves  to  be  treated  with  ridicule,  might  not  poison  a  single 
German !  Rut  as  we  have  hitherto  with  inhuman  stupidity  re- 
garded everything  that  was  paraded  under  an  Italian  or  Poman 
name  as  coming  direct  from  God,  and  these  proud,  supercilious 
people  noticed  that,  they  dare  with  ever-increasing  impudence 
to   palm   off  on   us   daily   still   more   shameful   abominations,    as 


366)  XVITT,    1439-158.3. 

367)  In  this  letter  Luther  calls  the  treatise  against  Catharinus  "the 
other  and  the  better  part  of  the  Babylonian  Captivity."  Cp.  DGR,  p.  116. — 
The  Epitome  of  Prierias  was  communicated  to  Luther  as  he  was  starting 
on   his   journey   to   Worms. 

368)  Nuremberg  is  on  the  Pegnitz  River, 


THE   PROFESSOR   CLEARS    TITS   DEST-C.  167 

though  Germany  must  forever  serve  them  as  a  laughing-stock. 
They  are  still  dreaming  that  we  are  beasts,  blockheads,  and 
dolts.  Meanwhile  they  fail  to  see  that  by  Divine  Providence 
they  have  become  shrouded  in  darkness  that  can  be  felt ;  they 
themselves  have  turned  beasts  twice  over,  together  with  their 
king  of  Babylon,  and,  being  deprived  of  good  grain,  are  eat- 
ing grass  like  an  ox,  as  Job  says.*^^^) 

First  Silvester  came  forward,  peeped  about  like  a  mouse, 
and  perished.  After  him  came  Cajetan ;  lastly  Catharinus,  the 
third  of  these  Thomists,  must  round,  out  the  sacred  number. 
Behold,  these  arc  the  Thomist  champions  from  Italy,  from 
whom  we  may  tell  what  the  rest  are.  h"or  these  carrion  birds 
are  not  descended  from  the  vulgar  pack,  but  from  noble  blood ; 
they  are  Trojans  and  men  like  Astyanax  of  Troy.  Now,  what 
are  we  to  think  of  the  common  Trojans  when  their  Hectors 
are  such  worthies? 

But  the  reading  of  the  books  of  these  profligate  people 
serves  the  good  end  of  showing  us  their  kind,  their  skill,  mod- 
eration, and  the  friendly  spirit  in  which  they  regard  us  as 
beasts.  For  nothing  has  disgusted  this  Catharinus  so  much  as 
my  calling  Silvester  an  Italian  and  saying  that  laymen  also 
have  some  understanding.  However.  I  now  see  that  this,  too, 
is  an.  absolute  truth,  that  a  mere  Thomist  is  a  genuine  ass, 
whether  he  is  Italian  or  German.  And  what  else  can  become 
of  them?  For  by  reading  and  devouring  only  their  Thomas, 
they  transfer  all  his  essential  qualities  to  their  own  essence — to 
speak  in  their  language.  Still,  I  do  not  begrudge  him  the  honor 
of  having  been  canonized  by  the  Pope — for  what  may  he  who 
is  the  holiest  of  all  not  declare  holy? — and  I  will  let  his  follow- 
ers glory  with  superhuman  conceit  in  his  holiness,  which  ex- 
ceeds that  of  others. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  his  teaching, 
which  is  utterly  void  of  the  Spirit,  is  one  of  the  vials  of  God's 
wrath  that  has  been  poured  upon  the  earth.^'^^)  And  yet,  it  was 
principally  on  account  of  his  teaching  that  he  was  canonized, 
and  thus  he  has  obtained  a  canonizer  such  as  he  deserves.  Not 
that  I  want  to  say  that  he  is  not  a  saint,  although  he  has  taught 
matters  that  are  very  heretical,  and  has  thus  ruined  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ.  He  may  have  done  it  in  ignorance.  But  what 
grieves  me  is  that  so  many  noble  hearts  of  believing  Christians 
are  deceived  by  his  authority,  and,  as  Jeremiah  sighs,  have  em- 


369)  Job   40,   TO. 

370)  Rev.   15,   7;    IG,   17. 


168  THE  JOURNEY    TO    WORMS:     WITTENBERG   TO   WEIMAR. 

braced  dunghills  for  saffron  flowers.'^'^'i)  But  listen !  I  had 
almost  forgotten  him.  Do  not  imagine  that  by  this  treatise  I 
intend  to  be  subjected  again  to  your  tyranny,  else  the  most  holy 
vicegerent  of  God  on  earth  might  order  you  to  dye  your  hands 
in  my  blood.  I  say  this  for  my  vindication,  lest  Catharinus 
detect  me  in  doing  things  contrary  to  one  another — a  thing 
which  he  is  very  keen  and  astute  in  discovering,  so  that,  as  re- 
gards skill,  he  might  almost  be  likened  to  an  ass.^'^'^) 

Exuberant  humor  and  trenchant  scorn  struggle  for  the 
lead  in  this  letter.  These  were  the  last  lines  the  professor 
penned  before  he  packed  his  lean  wallet  for  his  journey  to 
the  Emperor.  His  desk  had  been  cleared,  and  it  had  grown 
late  again.  A  few  hours'  repose,  and  the  next  morning  that 
journey  began  which  outshone  in  real  glory  the  coronation 
journey  of  Charles  V. 


19.  The  Journey  to  Worms :   Wittenberg  to 

Weimar. 

On  Tuesday,  April  2,  the  citizens  of  Wittenberg  gathered 
about  Christian  Doering's  pretty  cabriolet  which  was  to 
convey  Luther  to  Worms.  The  vehicle  had  a  cloth- 
covered  top,  which  was  open  on  all  sides,  and  accommodated 
four  passengers  besides  the  driver.  The  owner  was  a  gold- 
smith (hence  frequently  referred  to  as  Aurifaber)  and  a 
])artner  in  Lucas  Cranach's  print-shop.-'^'^^)  The  vehicle 
had  been  furnished  by  the  city  council  of  Wittenberg,  which 


371)  Lam.  4,  '>;  I^vither  renders:  "habcn  Dreck  fuer  Saffranblumen 
anKenommen." 

372)  XV [II,   1436-9. 

373)  Cranach  is  Lucas  Mueller  of  Kronach  in  Franconia.  whence  he 
took  his  name  (1472-15.'>3).  Nothing  is  known  of  his  early  life.  In  1504 
he  produced  his  first  and  perhaps  greatest  masterpiece,  the  "Flight  into 
Egypt"  (Rerlin).  In  the  same  year  he  became  court-painter  to  Frederick 
the  Wise  and  settled  at  Wittenberg,  where,  besides  pursuing  his  artistic 
I)rofessjon,  he  drove  tlie  trade  of  printer,  goldsmith,  banker,  and  apothecary. 
Ilis  first  picture  of  Luther  is  dated  ir)20.  His  relations  to  Luther  were 
warm  for  many  years,  but  in  1539  cooled  temporarily  as  Luther  suspected 
Cranach  of  cornering  the  wheat  and  raising  prices,  and  also  blamed  him 
for  an  indecent  picture.  SC,  1,  485. —  During  the  Diet  Luther  forwards 
to   Spalatin   some   pictures   of  Cranach   which   he   has   signed. 


The  journey  to  worms:    wittenuekg  to  weimar.         169 

had  generously  assumed  the  expenses  of  tiie  journcv.-''^' 
Luther's  companions  on  this  journey  were  John  Petzen- 
steiner,  a  brother  Augustinian/^75)  Nicholas  von  Amsdorf, 
licentiate  and  canon  at  Wittenberg,-"'*' >  and  Peter  von 
Suaven,-'"')  who  was  a  lodger  at  Melanchthon's  house  and  a 
very  good  friend  of  Luther.  Jerome  Schurf,-'"*^)  Luther's 
colleague,  who  was  to  act  as  his  legal  adviser  at  tiie  Diet, 
had  already  preceded  them  to  Worms.  After  the  farewell 
cup  of  wine,  which  the  city  council  had  sent,  had  been  drunk, 
the  herald  took  the  lead,  bearing  the  imperial  insignia  on 
his  arm,  and  followed  by  his  attendant,  and  the  little  com- 
pany started  amidst  cordial  farewells  and  prayers  for  a 
safe  return.  It  was  still  early  in  the  morning.  For  a  little 
distance  the  company  was  escorted  by  mounted  students.*^'''^*' 

Amsdorf,  to  whom  Luther  had  dedicated  his  Appeal  to 
the  Christian  Nobility,  was  the  nobleman  in  the  party — a 
stern,  passionate  character.  His  determination  to  join 
Luther  on  this  journey  into  the  jaws  of  death  was  an  act  of 


374)  Doering  was  awarded  6  groschen  a  day  for  seven  weeks.  2>^ 
groschen  a  day  for  horses  and  an  extra  allowance  for  repairs,  because  his 
new  vehicle  had  been  damaged  on  the  journey.  I.uther  received  from  tlie 
city  council  30  gulden,  and  the  same  amount  from  the  university.  Lingke, 
L.'s  Reiscyesch..  p.  83  f.  From  Frankfort  I>uther  wrote.  \\n\\  28,  on  his 
return  journey  to  Cranach:  "Greet  Christian  Doering  and  his  wife. 
Please  tliank  the  town  council  for  ])roviding  the  carriage."  X\',  1!)3G;  Krl. 
Ed.    .33.  64;    SL,   p.   119. 

375)  He  hailed  from  Wittenberg  and  like  Luther  wore  tlie  monk's 
cloak. 

37«)  Nicholas  von  Amsdorf  (December  3,  1483-May  14,  l.'>(>5), 
Luther's  most  devoted  followir.  born  at  Torgau.  malrieuhited  at  Leipzig 
I.'jOO  and  at  Wittenberg  l.')()2,  becoming  M.  \.  in  l.')04  and  Licentiate  in 
Tluology  in  l.')ll.  In  1."i24  he  was  called  to  Madgeburg.  In  l.')34  he  took  a 
I)rominent  i)art  in  Luther's  (luarrel  with  Erasmus,  which  brought  him  into 
trouble  with  Melanchthon  and  I'.ucer.  In  1.342  Luther  consecrated  him 
Evangelical  r>ishoi>  of  Xaumburg,  wliich  j)osition  he  was  obliged  to  vacate 
in  consequence  of  the  Smalcaldic  War  0  547).  In  1.').32  he  obtained  a  posi- 
tion at  Eisenach.      SC.  1,  .32. 

377)  In  old  chronicles  he  was  called  "a  noble  Dane."  but  his  home  was 
at  Stolpe  in  Pomerania.  and  to  this  place  he  returned  whin  Luther  was 
taken  to  Wartburg.  and  preached  the  Ciospel  at  Stolpe,  until  he  became 
Privv    Counselor   of    the    King   of    Denmark. 

378)  Schurf  ( 14S1-1  r)r)4).  of  St.  Ciall,  studied  medicine  at  Basle,  and 
then  in  1.300  or  1.301  took  up  jurisprudence  at  Tuebingen.  In  1;3(»2  he  began 
to  teach  and  practise  law  at  Wittenberg,  where  he  lived  till  1346,  after 
which  he  was  driven  bv  the  Smalcaldic  War  to  Frankfort  on  the  ()<ler. 
SC,    1,   343. 

379)  This  is  the  only  reasonable  explanation  to  be  given  of  the  remark 
of  the  Jesuit  Maimbourg'  that  Luther  started  for  Worms  with  the  cavalcade 
of  100  horsemen.  Mounted  students  had  also  accomi)anied  Luther  to  the 
debate   with   Eck  at   Leipzig.      (DLD,   p.    IIC.) 


170  THE   JOURNEY    TO    WORMS  :     WITTENBERG    TO   WEIMAR. 

Spiritual  heroism  and  affectionate  friendship;  for  it  was  not 
sure  that  he  was  included  in  the  safe-conduct.  If  Luther 
should  meet  with  the  fate  of  Huss  at  Worms,  Amsdorf  w^as 
resolved  to  be  Luther's  Jerome  and  seal  his  friendship  with 
Luther  by  joining  him  in  his  journey  out  of  this  world. 
This  act  of  Amsdorf  laid  the  foundation  for  the  lifelong 
friendship  that  cemented  the  hearts  of  Luther  and  Amsdorf. 
Petzensteiner  was  an  insignificant,  harmless  personage,  who 
merely  went  along  because  a  rule  of  the  Augustinian  order 
required  that  a  traveling  brother  must  be  accompanied  by  a 
socitis  itinerarius,  a  traveling  companion.  The  only  incident 
that  made  Petzensteiner  immortal  occurred  on  the  return 
journey;  for  at  the  ambush  near  Altenstein,  where  Luther 
was  waylaid,  the  brave  Petzensteiner  made  for  the  woods  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  horsemen  galloping  up  to  Luther's  vehicle. 
But  during  the  journey  Petzensteiner  supplied  the  social 
element.  He  was  bubbling  over  with  sheer  animal  delight, 
and  by  his  homely  wit  and  his  propensity  to  see  the  humorous 
side  in  affairs  became  the  cause  of  much  merriment.  At 
Petzensteiner's  expense  the  others,  too,  became  witty.  At 
Worms,  Petzensteiner  one  day  happened  to  stand  near  the 
pulpit  stairs  while  a  monk  was  preaching.  When  the  monk 
descended,  Petzensteiner  plucked  him  by  the  gown  and 
informed  him  with  a  most  serious  face  that  he  had  not  under- 
stood the  monk's  text, — whether  he  had  had  any  ?  On  another 
occasion  he  was  introduced  to  Cochlaeus,  whom  he  learned 
t(  know  as  a  vicious  opponent  of  Luther.  He  would  refer 
to  Cochlaeus  as  "the  wrathful  manikin  with  the  bell  cap," 
and  lo  the  unbounded  delight  of  the  bystanders  challenged 
the  theologian  to  a  debate.  As  Petzensteiner  made  a  very 
sober  face,  Cochlaeus  did  not  see  that  a  practical  joke  was 
being  played  on  him,  and  began  to  speak  to  Petzensteiner 
in  tones  of  serious  warning,  addressing  Petzensteiner  as  a 
precocious  young  individual,  and  calling  him  fraterculc,  "my 
little  brother."  The  scene  took  place  in  Luther's  rooms  at 
Worms,  and  Luther  said  to  Cochlaeus  laughing.  "Look  out ; 
my  little  brother  might  prove  more  learned  than  all  of  us, 


THE   JOURNEY    TO    WORMS:     WITTENPERC    TO    WEIMAR.  171 

especially  after  he  has  had  a  good  drink."  The  practical, 
matter-of-fact  member  of  the  party  was  the  young  Pomer- 
anian Suaven.  At  Worms  the  reporters  called  him 
Schwoffenius. 

The  spring  of  1521  had  started  propitiously.  On  March 
25  the  Elector  had  written  from  Worms:  "We  have  had 
very  good  weather  in  these  parts ;  all  the  trees  are  in  bloom ; 
but  now  it  has  been  cold  for  several  days,  and  there  is  danger 
that  the  buds  have  been  damaged. "=^^^^  The  aged  gentleman 
himself  caught  a  severe  cold.  In  tlie  sandy  plains  through 
which  Luther's  vehicle  rolled,  the  warm  spring  sun,  was 
shining,  and  the  larks  were  rising  in  spirals  and  warbling 
in  the  sky. 

The  party  made  their  first  stop  for  the  night  at  Leipzig. 
This  was  in  Duke  George's  country,  and  the  citizens  who 
knew  their  ruler's  sentiments  made  no  display  of  any  kind  on 
Luther's  arrival,  but  the  magistrate  sent  the  customary  cup 
of  welcome  to  Luther. 

The  next  morning  the  party  started  towards  the  green 
hills  of  Naumburg,  where  they  arrived  Wednesday,  April  3. 
The  magistrates  again  sent  the  cup  of  welcome  to  the  trav- 
elers, and  Mayor  Graessler  entertained  Luther  and  Storm 
at  his  house.  A  priest  of  the  town,-*^^^)  who  had  been  an 
admirer  of  Savonarola  and  had  started  a  reformation  in 
Savonarola's  si)irit,  sent  Luther  a  [)icture  of  the  Italian 
martyr,  intending  by  this  act  to  exhort  him  to  make  a  brave 
confession  at  Worms. 

Weimar  was  the  travelers'  next  stopping-place.-'^'*-^  Here 
Luther  saw  for  the  first  time  the  imperial  mandate  which 
ordered  the  sequestration  of  his  books.  Luther  has  related 
the  episode : — 


380)  FNU,  I,  p.  12. 

381)  Schamelius  and   Schlcgcl   suggest  that   his  name   was  John   Langer. 

382)  Scckendorf's  stattnient  that  Luthrr  went  from  Naumburg  to 
Altenburg,  lodged  in  Spalatin's  house,  an'l  preached  in  the  church  of  the 
I'ranciscans  is  without  evidence.  A  visit  to  Spalatin  was  impossible,  for 
Luther  knew  tliat  Spalatin  was  at  Worms;  to  reach  Weimar  via  .Mtenburg 
meant  a  detour  of  nearlv   40  miles,   for  uhicli   Luther  had  no  time. 


172  THE   JOURNEY    TO    WORMS:     WITTENBERG    TO    WEIMAR. 

When  we  arrived  at  Weimar,  we  heard  a  report  that  Doctor 
Martin  and  his  books  had  already  been  condemned  at  Worms; 
and  we  were  told  that  the  report  was  true.  At  the  same  time 
I  met  messengers  who  had  been  sent  to  post  the  imperial  man- 
date, stating  that  Luther  had  been  condemned  by  the  Emperor 
personally,  in  all  cities.  The  herald  asked  me,  saying,  "Doctor, 
do  you  intend  to  proceed  ?"  I  answered,  "Yes ;  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  I  have  been  excommunicated,  and  an  announce- 
ment to  that  efifect  has  been  made  in  all  cities,  I  shall  continue 
my  journey,  relying  on  the  imperial  safe-conduct."  That  was 
the  first  trick  which  the  Archbishop  of  Mayence  played  me,  in- 
tending to  hinder  my  journey  to  the  Diet,  and  then  to  raise  a 
protest  against  me  for  having  disregarded  the  imperial  safe- 
conduct  and  to  charge  me  with  contumacy.^^^) 

But  at  Weimar  Luther  found  a  powerful  friend  and 
protector ;  Duke  John  had  already  returned  from  the  Diet 
and  gave  Luther  very  valuable  information  regarding  the 
true  state  of  affairs  at  Worms.  He  also  added  thirty  gulden 
to  Luther's  fund  when  he  learned  that  the  latter  had  started 
from  Wittenberg  with  the  small  purse  which  the  city  council 
and  the  university  had  donated. 

Luther  tarried  at  Weimar  an  entire  day  (Friday,  April 
5),  and  preached  a  sermon  in  which  he  discussed  the  ques- 
tion whether  works  of  piety  ordained  by  the  Church 
possessed  any  merit.  As  a  result  of  this  sermon  it  is 
reported  that  a  Franciscan  embraced  the  Gospel.^*^*^ 
Myconius  (Frederick  Mecum)  was  at  that  time  preacher  at 
Weimar.  He  reports  Luther's  coming  to  Weimar  as  an 
eye-witness : — 

Wherever  Luther  entered  a  city,  the  people  ran  to  meet  him 
outside  of  the  city,  desiring  to  see  the  wonderful  man  who  was 


'M'.i)  X\',  1825.— Hausiath  (HAL,  p.  227)  claims  that  at  a  later  time, 
when  his  memory  had  become  confused,  Luther  in  his  Table  Talk  gave 
Erfurt  as  the  place  where  this  episode  happened.  This  is  a  mistake. 
Luther  says:  "Did  I  not  appear  at  Worms,  although  they  had  broken 
my  safe-conduct?  For  I  was  summoned  by  the  imperial  herald  on  Monday 
of  Holy  Week,  and  on  Wednesday  I  was  condemmd  and  my  books  burned, 
and  before  I  reached  lirfitrt,  my  condemnation  had  been  posted  onfall 
the  city  gates  and  in  public  places."  XXII,  1.S73.  The  only  point  in  this 
account  where  Luther's  memory,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  has  become  con- 
fused is  the  (lay  of  Storm's  arrival  at  Wittenberg:  it  was  Tuesday,  not 
Monday. 

:J84)  Seckendorf  (Scholia  ad  ludicem  IX)  gives  his  name  as  John 
Voigt,  and  C.  A.  Wetten  (Histor.  Nachr.  r.  Weimar  I,  179)  states  that 
he  left  the  cloister  in  l')2.3,  became  court-preacher  of  Duke  John,  then 
pastor  at   P.uergel.  and.  lastly,   ])rofessor  at  Jena  and   Wittenberg. 


'     THE    JOURNEY    TO    WORMS:      AT    ERFURT.  173 

SO  bold  as  to  set  himself  against  the  Pope  and  all  the  world 
that  had  regarded  the  Pope  as  god,  contrary  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  Some  gave  him  poor  comfort  on  his  way  and  said  that, 
since  there  were  so  many  cardinals  and  bishops  at  the  Diet  in 
Worms,  he  would  soon  be  burned  to  ashes,  as  was  the  fate  of 
Huss  at  Constance.  But  Luther  replied  to  them:  If  they  kindled 
a  fire  between  Wittenl)crg  and  Worms,  the  flames  of  which 
shot  to  heaven,  he  would  still  appear  before  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  and,  having  been  summoned,  would  step  into  the 
very  maw  of  Behemoth,  confess  Christ,  and  let  Mim  take  care 
of  Luther /»8''>) 


20.  The  Journey  to  Worms:   At  Erfurt. 

When  Luther's  party  left  Weimar,  tiiey  had  an  escort, 
Justtis  Jonas,  canon  at  the  church  of  St.  Severus,  had  been 
informed  of  Luther's  coming  by  Lang,  and  had  gone  to  meet 
Luther  at  Weimar.  Jonas  was  to  prepare  Lutiier  for  the 
great  reception  that  had  been  planned  for  him  at  Rrfurr. 
Ltither  had  expressed  the  wish  to  Lang  that,  unless  passage 
through  Erfurt  were  denied  him,  he  and  Sturm  might  be 
permitted  to  stop  at  the  Augustinian  cloister,  Luther's  first 
ecclesiastical  domicile  when  he  became  a  monk.  Jonas  had 
gone  on  his  mission  rejoicing,  for  Luther  was  to  become  his 
colleague  in  the  near  future,  as  Jonas  had  been  called  to  the 
chair  of  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  at  Wittenberg.  Like 
Amsdorf  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  join  Luther  on  this 
journey,  which  might  end  in  heaven.  He  went  with  liim  to 
Worms,  and  being  a  skilled  horseman  of  noble  bearing, 
added  considerably  to  the  impressive  aspect  of  Luther's 
triumphant  procession,  into  which  the  journey  was  now  being 
turned  after  the  party  had  left  Weimar.  From  this  day 
Luther  numbered  Jonas  with  Amsdorf  as  bis  stalwart 
friend. 

Hausrath  muses  on  the  psychological  effects  of  the  jour- 
ney from  Weimar  to  Erfurt  on  Luther's  mind.  "What 
thoughts   must    have    stirred    in    Luther's    breast    as   l)etween 


3S.-))    X\',    1S2(;    f.;    HAL.   p.   228. 


174  THE   JOURNEY   TO    WORMS:     AT   ERFURT. 

these  two  places  he  passed  over  the  same  road  which  he  had 
traversed  so  many  times  as  a  student,  later  as  a  magister, 
and  finally  as  a  monk  (with  the  mendicant  friar's  wallet 
on  his  back)  !  How  vastly  had  his  condition  changed  since 
then !  An  imperial  herald,  with  the  Empire's  coat  of  arms, 
was  riding  at  his  side  !  Even  the  trees  along  the  road  had 
been  silent  witnesses  of  his  arduous  youth,  his  soul-battles, 
and  his  final  victory.  He  had  reached  his  thirty-eighth  year, 
but  he  had  not  yet  reached  his  goal :  he  was  rather  at  the 
real  beginning." 

But  the  Erfurt  which  he  remembered  had  also  changed. 
The  cheerful  circle  of  Humanists,  wdiich  had  numbered 
among  its  members  Crotus  Rubeanus,  Eoban  Hesse,  and 
Justus  Jonas,  and  as  whose  patron  Mutianus  Rufus  of  Gotha 
had  acted,  had  become  the  dominant  party  at  Erfurt.  This 
party  had  forced  Crotus,  who  happened  to  pass  through 
Erfurt  on  a  journey  in  the  fall  of  1520,  to  accept  the  posi- 
tion of  Rector  of  the  university.  His  original  name  had 
been  Jaeger  von  Dornheim ;  the  first  part  had  been  changed 
into  Crotus  after  the  constellation  of  Sagittarius,  and  the 
later  into  Rubeanus,-  an  allusion  to  the  thorns  of  the  black- 
berry bush.  Like  Luther  he  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
scholastic  theologians.  Mutian  wrote  to  him:  "When  you 
w^ere  still  Jaeger  von  Dornheim,  you  were  pleased  with 
Arnold  von  Thungern  and  fanatics  of  that  sort.  After  you 
were  regenerated  and  turned  into  Crotus  Rubeanus,  you 
shed  your  long  ears."  Rubeanus  had  divided  his  friendship 
between  Luther  and  Hutten,  and  when  Luther  had  entered 
the  monastery,  Rubeanus  had  walked  altogether  in  Hutten's 
footsteps,  until  the  report  of  Luther's  controversy  with  Eck 
caused  him,  while  in  Italy,  to  renew  his  connection  with 
Luther.386) 

The  great  ovation  which  awaited  Luther  at  Erfurt  had 
been  arranged  by  the  Humanists,  who  wished  to  honor  a 
fellow-student  and  an  alumnus  of  the  university.  But  the 
movement  assumed  the  larger  proportion  of  a  reception  by 


380)   ITAI.,  p.  229. 


THE   JOURNEY    TO    WORMS!     AT    ERFURT.  175 

the  entire  city,  and  took  on  an  anticlerical  character.  For 
years  the  citizens  of  Erfurt  had  felt  the  heavy  hand  of 
Mayence  resting  on  them,  and  had  made  many  futile  attempts 
to  levy  taxes  on  the  valuable  property  of  the  clergy  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  city  government  and  for  public  improve- 
ments. The  Humanists  at  the  university  could  not  hate  the 
clerical  party  more  cordially  than  the  Erfurt  burghers  did. 
Saturday,  April  6,  was  a  gala  day,  when  hj-furt  proceeded 
to  act  as  host  to  a  monk  whom  the  Pope  had  cursed.  No 
monarch  could  have  been  given  a  more  loyal  welcome  than 
Luther  received.  A  committee  of  forty  horsemen  had  gone 
out  to  meet  him  at  the  village  of  Nohra,  ten  miles  from  the 
city.  Near  the  city  limits  this  train  was  met  by  an  august 
procession  of  university  men,  headed  by  Rector  Crotus  in  full 
regalia,  and  followed  by  numerous  members  of  the  city 
council  and  prominent  citizens.  Crotus  delivered  an  ode 
of  greeting  in  the  pompous  style  affected  by  the  Humanists 
and  full  of  grotesque  exaggerations  that  must  have  made 
Luther  wince.  He  declared,  for  instance,  that  even  a  visit 
of  one  of  the  celestials  could  not  have  afforded  greater  joy 
to  Erfurt  than  the  coming  of  Luther.  Eoban  Hesse  launched 
a  majestic  epic,  somewhat  like  this: — 

I'^xult,  sublimo  Krfurt ! 
Let  festive  iiarlands  deck  thy  noble  brow  ! 
For,  lo  !  he  comes  who  purges  thee  from  filth 
That  has  distressed  thee  for  so  many  years,  etc.,  etc. 

Tt  was  an  awful  affliction  to  a  lowly  mind  like  Luther's 
to  have  to  submit  to  all  these  jjoetical  and  oratorical 
cl'.astisements  ;  but  tlie  jov  of  the  common  people  tliat  surged 
about  him  as  his  vehicle  slowlv  moved  through  the'  streets 
was  genuine.  All  Erfurt  seemed  to  ha\e  turned  out  to  see 
Luther.  Every  elevated  place,  towers,  roofs,  the  city  walls, 
were  crowded  with  people. 

The  vehicle  halted  at  the  monastery  gate — that  gate 
where,  on  July  17,  1505,  a  heart-broken  student,  surrounded 
by  a  small  band  of  discon.solate  and  weeping  companions, 
bad  knocked  for  admission  to  what  he  hoped  would  become 


176  THE    JOURNEY    TO    WORMS:     AT    ERFURT. 

a  haven  of  peace  to  him.  Since  then  he  had  learned  to  ask 
God's  forgiveness  for  this  act  of  youthful  folly,  and  was 
now  prepared  to  bring  true  peace  to  this  mock  asylum  of 
weary  souls.  As  he  passed  through  the  cloister  portal,  there 
v/as  scant  cheer  for  him  in  the  somber  looks  with  which 
representatives  of  the  old  system  like  Usingen  and  Arnoldi 
received  him,  but  the  cordiality  of  the  Prior,  his  dear  friend 
Lang,  compensated  for  that. 

Disregarding  the  papal  injunction,  the  Augustinians  gave 
Luther  permission  to  preach,  and  swiftly  the  news  spread 
through  Erfurt  that  on  the  next  Sunday  morning  Luther 
would  occupy  the  pulpit  in  which  he  had  so  often  stood,  which 
brought  an  immense  gathering  out  to  the  service.  But  if 
they  had  come  to  hear  a  sensational  sermon,  they  were 
disappointed.  In  his  usual  plain  and  direct  style  Luther 
preached  to  them  from  the  Gospel  for  Quasimodogeniti 
Sunday. 

My  dear  friends,  I  shall  for  the  present  pass  over  the  story 
of  St.  Thomas,  reserving  that  for  another  occasion,  and  shall 
dwell  on  the  words  of  Christ :  "Peace  be  unto  you ;"  "Behold 
My  hands  and  My  side;"  "As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  so  send 
I  you. "^8'^)  Now,  it  is  quite  manifest  that  every  person  would 
like  to  conduct  himself  so  as  to  become  godly  and  attain  to 
everlasting  salvation.  That  shall  be  my  subject  now.  You 
know  that  all  philosophers,  doctors,  and  writers  have  striven  to 
learn  and  to  explain  in  their  writings  how  a  person  may  attain 
to  godliness.  They  have  made  great  efforts,  but  we  see  that 
they  have  accomplished  little. 

Now,  genuine  and  true  godliness  consists  in  works  of  two 
different  kinds:  in  works  of  Another — these  are  the  genuine 
works;  and  in  one's  own  works — these  are  inferior.  To  give 
you  an  illustration :  One  erects  churches,  another  makes  a  pil- 
grimage to  St.  James  [of  Compostellal  or  to  St.  Peter  [at 
Rome]  ;  still  another  fasts  and  recites  prayers,  wears  a  cowl, 
goes  barefoot,  or  engages  in  other  acts,  whatever  they  may 
be.  Such  works  are  perfectly  worthless,  and  must  be  utterly 
abolished.  Mark  what  T  say  :  All  our  works  are  void  of  virtue. 
God  has  elected  One  Man,  the  Lord  Christ  Jesus,  to  bruise 
death,  destrov   sin,   and   demolish   boll.     Before   Him   there   was 


387)   John   20,  19   ff. 


THE    JOURNEY    T(J    \V()R.\JS:      AT    ERFURT.  177 

no  one  that  escaped  the  devil's  bondage.  The  devil  imagined 
that  he  could  capture  even  the  Lord  when  He  was  crucified 
between  two  murderers,^88)  ^j^j  ^^^s  subjected  to  the  most 
shameful  and  blasphemous  execution,  which  was  branded  as 
ignominious  by  God  and  man.-"8;>)  But  the  Deity  was  so  strong 
that  death,  sin,  and  hell  were  vanquished. 

Therefore,  you  must  note  the  words  of  Paul  in  Rom.  5.  12  IT. : 
Our  sins  have  their  origin  in  Adam.  Adam  ate  the  apple,  and 
we  derive  our  sin  from  him.  However,  Christ  soon  destroyed 
sin  for  our  sake,*^'><^)  and  thus  we  are  saved  by  the  works  of 
Another,  and  not  by  our  own.  But  the  authority  of  the  Pope 
ordains  differently :  it  commands  us  to  fast,  to  recite  prayers, 
to  eat  butter.  If  a  person  observes  the  commandments  of  the 
Pope,  he  will  be  saved;  if  he  does  not  observe  them,  he  is  de- 
clared a  child  of  the  devil.  Thus  there  is  wrought  on  the  peo- 
ple this  delusion,  that  godliness  and  salvation  are  based  on  our 
own  works.  But  I  say  that  all  the  saints,  no  matter  how  holy 
they  were,  have  not  obtained  salvation  by  their  works.  Even 
the  holy  Mother  of  God  did  not  become  godly,  nor  was  she 
saved,  by  her  virginity  or  motherhood,  but  by  her  willing  faith 
and  by  the  works  of  God,  not  by  her  purity  or  her  own  works. 
Mark  this  well ;  for  this  is  the  reason  why  salvation  is  not  and 
cannot  be  obtained  by  our  own  works — no  matter  what  they 
are — without  faith. 

Suppose,  now,  tiiat  some  one  were  to  ask  :  Vou  are  talking 
a  great  deal  about  faith,  and  say  that  our  salvation  depends  en- 
tirely on  faith;  how,  then,  can  a  person  attain  to  faith?  I 
shall  tell  you  :  Our  Lord  Christ  has  said  :  "Peace  be  unto  you  I" 
"Behold  My  hands,"  etc.  He  means  to  say:  Behold.  O  man,  I 
alone  am  He  that  has  taken  away  your  sin  and  has  redeemed 
you.  etc.  Now.  then,  accept  peace.  You  have  received  sin  from 
Adam,  not  by  committing  it ;  for  I  did  not  eat  the  apple,  nor 
did  you;  yet  we  were  in  sin.  Likewise,  we  did  not  suffer,  and 
yet  through  suffering  we  were  delivered  from  death  and  sin 
by  God's  work,  not  by  our  own.  Therefore  God  says :  Behold. 
O  man,  I  am  your  Redemption  ;'^^i)  and  Paul  says:  Christ  is 
our  Justification  and  Redemption.-"'^- >  Here  our  masters  say: 
Why,  yes,  it  says  "Redeemer."  that's  true ;  but  that  will  not 
suffice,  etc. 


.388)  Tohn   19.   18. 

.''.S9)  Dent.   21,   23;   Gal.   .".    1.3. 

.300)  o    Tim.   1.   10. 

391)  Cp.    Is.   43,   3. 

392;  1    Cor.   1,  30. 

DAU,  TRIBUN.\L    OF    CAtSAR.  12 


178  THE   JOURNEY    TO    WORMS  :     AT   ERFURT. 

In  the  course  of  his  sermon  Luther  arrayed  in  striking 
contrasts  the  popish  and  the  Christian  way  of  salvation : — 

Give,  give !  the  Pope's  minions  are  crying,  or  you  are  a 
child  of  the  devil.  .  .  .  Thus  it  has  come  about  that  for  a  long 
time  there  has  not  been  a  genuine  preacher.  True,  there  have 
been  three  thousand  priests,  but  among  them  not  four  genuine 
preachers.  God  have  mercy!  And  even  when  there  is  a  true 
preacher  occasionally,  the  Gospel  is  slurred  over,  and  then  an 
anecdote  is  related  about  an  old  donkey,  or  a  story  of  Dietrich 
of  Bern,  or  a  hodge-podge  of  Aristotle,  Plato,  and  Socrates  is 
served. 

The  pulpit  in  which  Luther  said  this  had  often  witnessed 
such  performances  by  Paltz,  Trutvetter,  and  Usingen ;  yea, 
Luther  himself  had  preached  w^ork-mongery  from  it. 

Luther  proceeded  to  rebuke  monasticism.  It  is  not  con- 
cern for  the  souls  of  unsaved  brethren  that  drives  men  into 
the  monasteries. 

I  tell  you,  you  became  a  priest,  a  monk,  for  the  purpose  of 
reciting  your  seven  canonical  prayers,  saying  mass,  and  thus 
becoming  godly.  Are  you  not  a  fine  fellow?  Surely,  you  can- 
not fail.  You  recite  the  Psalter ;  you  pray  the  rosary ;  you 
offer  many  other  prayers ;  you  are  very  wordy ;  you  prepare  for 
mass ;  you  kneel  at  the  altar ;  you  say  your  confession :  Miir, 
mur,  miir;  that's  the  way  you  can  reel  it  off;  and  thus  you 
imagine  that  you  are  rid  of  sin.  Still  your  heart  is  full  of 
jealousy.  If  you  could  with  impunity  strangle  your  neighbor, 
you  would  do  it,  and  celebrate  mass  after  it.  It  should  not 
surprise  me  if  the  lightning  were  to  strike  you.  But  if  you 
had  eaten  three  grains  of  sugar  or  a  piece  of  dry  root,  you 
would  be  dragged  to  the  altar  with  red-hot  pincers.  That  is 
the  way  to  stir  up  your  conscience.  Yes,  that  means  going  to 
heaven  with  the  devil.  I  know  that  people  do  not  like  to  hear 
these  things,  but  I  am  telling  the  truth  and  must  say  these 
things,  if  it  were  to  cost  me  my  neck  twenty  times  over,  lest  I 
fall  under  the  sentence  of  condemnation.  .  .  .  Let  the  Pope  come 
and  hurl  his  ban  at  us;  we  are  joined  with  God! 

With  a  ringing  appeal  to  throw  confidence  in  one's  own 

works  to  the  winds,  the  sermon  closed : — 

No,  we  cannot  save  ourselves,  but  God  can.  Let  us  accept 
the  peace  which  He  has  offered  us  to-day.     Amen.^93) 


393)   XII,  1386-93. 


THE  JOURNKV  TO  WORMS:     FROM   ERPrRT  TO  FRANKFORT.         179 

Superintendent  Gniser  took  clown  tlie  sermon  while 
Luther  spoke.  There  was  an  interruption  ;  the  beams  sup- 
porting the  crowded  gallery  on  one  side  of  the  chapel  began 
to  give  way,  and  a  panic  seemed  imminent.  With  great 
presence  of  mind  Luther  cried:  "Keep  quiet,  dear  people; 
it  is  the  devil  that  is  trying  to  frighten  us  with  a  trick. 
Keep  quiet,  there  is  no  danger  !"  The  tunuilt  subsided,  and 
some  of  the  old  chroniclers,  in  recounting  this  episode,  arc 
reminded  of  Christ  rebuking  the  storm  and  strengthening  the 
disciples'  faith. 

A  banquet  was  arranged  in  honor  of  Luther  bv  the  uni- 
versity, and  the  city  authorities  showered  attentions  upon 
Luther,  who  began  to  feel  extremely  uneasy.  Crotus  wrote 
to  Hess  at  Breslau  that  the  reverend  father  had  disliked  the 
pompous  features  of  his  reception,  but  remarks  that  these 
displays  had  to  be  made  in  order  that  the  Word  of  God 
might  be  given  due  honor.  When  the  report  of  these  events 
reached  Worms,  the  Papists  were  outraged,  and  expostulated 
with  the  imperialists  that  the  herald  had  broken  Luther's 
safe-conduct  by  not  prohibiting  the  reception.  Jonas,  how- 
ever, v/as  determined  to  have  similar  scenes  enacted  all  along 
Luther's  route  to  Worms.  He  rode  ahead  and  prepared  the 
people  for  Luther's  coming. 


21.  The  Journey  to  Worms:    From  Erfurt  to 

Frankfort. 

On  Monday,  April  8,  Luther  resumed  his  journey.  The 
city  of  Erfurt  detailed  Hermann  von  Hoff  as  his  guard  of 
honor.  Crotus  would  have  accompanied  Luther  to  Worms, 
but  his  duties  at  the  university  detained  him.  He  and  many 
others  rode  alongside  of  Luther's  vehicle  for  two  hours. 
The  parting  was  solemn  and  impressive.  Crotus  exhorted 
Luther  to  remain  steadfast.  Koban  Hesse  called  to  the 
departing  friend:     "Uncover  the  wiles  of  Rome,  the  shame 


180  THE  JOURNEY  TO  WORMS  :     FROM   ERFURT  TO  FRANKFORt. 

uf   the   whole   earth.      Great   Germany   will   enter   into   this 
holy  conflict  for  you.    Go,  and  be  not  afraid !" 

The  priests  at  Erfurt  had  watched  the  proceedings  during 
Luther's  stay  with  suppressed  rage,  and  had  especially 
marked  Jonas  and  his  brother  canon,  John  Draconites*"'^^^ 
at  St.  Severus'  Church,  as  objects  of  their  vengeance.  When 
Draconites  wanted  to  take  his  usual  seat  in  the  choir  at 
service  time,  he  was  received  with  insulting  remarks  and 
ejected  from  the  building.  The  priests  argued  that  he  had 
fellowshiped  an  excommunicated  heretic  and  had  therewith 
become  excommunicate  himself.  Draconites  summoned  the 
university  to  his  aid,  and  before  the  senate  of  the  city 
could  take  up  the  case,  the  students  decided  to  obtain  justice 
for  him.  Angry  mobs  gathered  at  the  houses  of  the  priests, 
and  at  nightfall  a  regular  priest-baiting  commenced.  The 
students  broke  every  window  in  the  neighborhood  of  Our 
Lady's  and  St.  Severus'  churches,  demolished  the  tile  stoves, 
the  plaster  and  the  wainscoting  in  the  dwellings,  split 
beautiful  furniture  and  threw  the  pieces  into  the  streets, 
likewise  the  contents  of  the  larders,  cut  the  feather-beds 
and  created  artificial  snowstorms  by  dumping  the  contents 
out  of  the  windows,  and  with  the  words,  "Ephphatha,  Be  thou 
opened  !"  smashed  the  wine-kegs  in  the  cellars.  Crotus  had 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  restoring  order,  because  the  magis- 
trates were  reluctant  to  stop  the  students.  The  city  fathers 
seemed  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  this  way  of  getting  rid  of 
priest  rule  and  Mayence  domination  was  as  good  as  any 
other.  But  the  peaceful  citizens  of  Erfurt  remembered 
Luther  who  had  just  departed  with  mixed  feelings,  and 
Gotthard  Schmalz  voiced  their  sentiments  when  he  wrote: — 


394)  John  Drach  (Draco,  Draconites),  born  1494  at  Carlstadt  on  the 
Main,  matriculated  at  Erfurt  in  the  summer  of  1509.  Following  the 
examples  of  I  less  and  Jonas,  he  made  a  visit  to  F£rasmus  in  ir)20.  Later 
he  went  to  Wittenberg,  where  he  was  inscribed  in  the  summer  of  l.')2.'?,  and 
shortly  afterwards  took  his  doctor's  degree.  In  the  same  year  he  became 
evangelical  preacher  at  Miltenberg,  but  was  driven  out  by  Albert  of 
Mayence.  From  15.34  to  1547  he  was  professor  at  Marburg,  1551-60  at 
Rostock;  he  then  became  the  Protestant  Bishop  of  Pomerania.  He  died  in 
infifi.       ER.    ?i.    15n    f.;    SC.    1,    343. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO   WORMS  :     FROM    ERFIRT  TO  FRANKFORT.         181 

Da  er  zu  Erfurt  war  allda, 
Der  "Friede  mit  euch  !"  war  sein  Thema ; 
Seit  der  Mann  Gottes  ist  hinweggezogen, 
1st  der  Friede  gar  mit  ihm  gertogen.-''^-'"») 

Tn  another  way  the  grand  celebration  of  Luther's  coming 
liad  an  evil  after-effect.  JyUther,  whose  body  had  Ijeen 
enfeebled  by  frequent  fasts,  was  not  fit  to  take  part  in  the 
feasting  and  banqueting  that  had  been  arranged  in  his  honor. 
He  was  taken  ill  two  days  later  and  remained  ill  all  the  way 
to  Frankfort.  Jonas's  glorification  schemes  for  the  further 
trip  to  Worms  were  spoiled,  and  this  was  best  for  Luther's 
cause;  for,  surely,  the  oratorical,  poetical,  and  riotous 
excesses  at  Erfurt  were  no  part  of  Luther's  program ;  how- 
ever, they  furnished  his  enemies  with  welcome  material  for 
slanderous  gossip  and  exaggerations  that  have  not  ceased  to 
circulate  after  four  hundred  years. 

The  next  stop  was  made  at  Gotha.  Luther  was  again 
entertained  at  the  Augustinian  cloister,  and  preached.  Here, 
too,  a  disturbance  was  caused,  however,  after  the  sermon 
had  been  finished.  Myconius  relates: — 

A  great  crowd  having  asseml)led,  the  devil  after  the  sermon 
tore  some  stones  out  of  the  coping  in  the  gable  towards  the  city 
wall.  They  had  lain  there  two  hundred  years ;  they  have  not 
been  replaced  till  this  day."'-'*') 

A  sickly  tendency  to  the  miraculous  is  observed  in  some 
of  the  reports  of  those  days.  Melanchthon  believed  all  the 
mysterious  happenings  that  were  reported,  and  no  doubt 
considered  them  astrologically  correct.  Luther  has  not 
reported  anv  miracles;  he  knew  and  had  said  often  enough 
that  ignorance,  the  mother  of  superstition,  held  the  lower 
classes  of  Germanv  shrouded  in  h'gyptian  darkness,  while 
the  priests  were  snoring. 


:i9.5)    Kampschulto,   Die  rvirers.  Erfurt,  p.   117  (T:   HAT.,  p.   '2^A   f. 
.'506)    XV,   182n. 


182  THE  JOURNEY  TO  WORMS  :    FROM  ERFURT  TO  FRANKFORT. 

Eisenach,  where  many  of  Luther's  relatives  lived,  was 
reached  Tuesday,  April  9.-^''")  Here  Luther  was  suddenly 
taken  ill  and  had  to  be  bled.  John  Oswald,  a  magistrate, 
prepared  a  potion  for  him,  which  enabled  him  to  continue 
his  journey.  Veit  von  Warbeck^^^)  reports  that  Luther 
preached  a  sermon  at  Eisenach,  but  in  view  of  the  conditions 
aforementioned  this  is  doubtful. 

The  information  about  the  travelers'  progress  from 
Wednesday  to  Friday  (April  10-13)  is  meager.  The  journey 
was  most  likely  continued  via  Berka,  Hirssfeld,  Gruenfeld, 
and  Friedberg.  The  roads  were  bad.  Hausrath  connects  a 
later  remark  of  Luther  with  his  experience  on  this  part  of 
the  journey : — 

The  Thuringian  country  consists  of  a  black,  slippery  loam, 
and  in  rainy  weather  vehicles  have  difficulty  in  getting  over  the 
bad  roads,  ...  It  used  to  be  a  very  rich  country,  but  now  it  is 
utterly  desolate,  probably  on  account  of  the  great  avarice  of 
the  peasants.^99) 

Luther's  vehicle  was  broken  on  these  roads. 
On  Misericordias  Domini  Sunday,  April  14,  the  travelers 
arrived  at  Frankfort.  Luther  w^as  still  sick.  He  was  given 
a  lodging  at  the  inn  of  Wolf  Parentes  on  the  Corn 
Market."*^^)  An  aged  matron,  Frau  Catharine  Frosch,  Gil- 
brecht  von  Holzhausen's  widow,  hearing  that  Luther  had 
arrived  sick,  sent  him  two  measures  of  malmsey,  which 
Luther  accepted  gratefully.  It  proved  a  good  restorative  to 
him.  The  lady  accompanied  the  gift  with  these  sentiments: 
She  had  heard  her  parents  say  that  God  would  soon  raise 
up  a  man  who  would  oppose  the  human  traditions  of  popery ; 


.397)  On  the  strength  of  a  remark  of  Ratzeberger,  Luther's  physician, 
Lingke  makes  the  JJenedictine  cloister  at  Reinhardtsbrunn  Luther's  next 
stopping-jjlace.  This  would  have  been  a  considerable  detour,  for  which 
there  is  no  apparent  reason.  Ratzeberger  relates  that  the  abbot  at  Rein- 
hardtsbrunn had  warned  Luther  of  the  treachery  of  the  Italians  and 
Spaniards,  and  that  Luther  had  answered:  "Pray  a  Paternoster  for  our 
Lord  Christ  that  His  Father  may  be  gracious  to  Him."  This  sounds  very 
much  like  the  remark  which  Luther  made  at  Gotha  on  his  journey  to 
Augsburg  in  1.518.  Lingke  thinks  it  possible  that  Luther  made  such  a 
remark  on  two  different  occasions.  The  evidence  that  Luther  visited 
Reinhardtsbrunn    on    his    way   to   Worms   is   not   at   all    conclusive. 

39S)   The  agent  of  Duke  John  of  Saxony. 

399)  XXIT,    1620. 

400)  Hausrath  says  at  the  present  time  Luther's  address  at  Frankfort 
would   have  been   Ruchgasse   1.5,   or   J.   120. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO   WORMS:     FROM   KRl-LKT  To  FRAN  KFORT.         183 

she  hoped  that  Luther  was  tlie  man,  and  wislicd  him  God- 
speed and  the  succor  of  the  Holy  Spirit."^^^)  Another  version 
of  the  incident  is  to  the  effect  that  the  lady  brought  the  gift 
in  person  and  kissed  Luther's  hand  in  tendering  it.  Alcandcr 
and  Cochlaeus  had  their  spies  at  Frankfort,  and  on  their 
report  published  a  melodramatic  account  of  Luther's  social 
activities  at  Frankfort: — 

In  the  taverns  there  are  groat  drinking  contests ;  the  cups 
are  passed  merrily;  there  is  music  and  other  pastimes.  Luther 
is  playing"  the  guitar,  with  the  eyes  of  all  fastened  on  him.  He 
is  a  modern  Orpheus,  all  the  more  odd-looking  because  of  his 
cowl  and  cassock.^^^) 

Opposite  Luther's  inn  the  Humanist  Nesen,"*^'^)  a  follower 
of  Luther,  had  opened  a  school,  which  Luther  visited.  He 
put  his  hand  in  blessing  on  the  heads  of  two  pupils,  Jerome 
von  Glauburg  and  Christoph  von  Stallburg,  who  were 
remembered  for  this  distinction  many  years  after. 

Messengers  from  Spalatin  and  the  Elector  were  waiting 
for  Luther  at  Frankfort.  The  machinations  of  Luther's 
enemies  at  Worms  had  entered  another  stage,  and  a  last 
effort  was  being  made  to  keep  Luther  out  of  Worms.  Brueck 
had  moved  among  the  Romanists  since  the  herald  had 
started  for  Wittenberg,  and  had  learned  that  Luther's  safe- 
conduct  might  be  repudiated.  The  Romanists  were  arguing 
that  the  Emperor's  summons  and  safe-conduct  must  bo  inter- 
preted in  the  light  of  tiic  mandate  published  three  weeks 
later.  This  latter  document  clearly  demanded  of-  Luther 
that  he  recant.  Besides,  Luthor  must  know  that  by  the  law 
of  the  Church  no  ])romise  made  lo  a  borolio  was  valid. 
Accordinglv,  they  "advised"  that  Luthor  write  to  the  b'jnporor 


401)  Liniikf.    /.    c.   p.    02;    after   Cyprian. 

402)  Cochlaeus.   Commcr.t.   .Sl-.-^n;    HAL,   p.  2;?7.  .      ,       ^  „     , 

403)  William  Ncscn  (UO."?-!  534)  of  Nastactten,  matriculated  at  i?aslc 
1511-  M  \  iril.5  \bout  this  time  he  became-  proof-reader  tor  l-roben 
and  met  Erasmus.  Early  in  1517  he  went  to  Paris  as  tutor  to  the  sons 
of  Nicholas  StallberKcr.  remaining  with  them  till  1510  when,  at  Erasmus, 
invitation,  he  came-  to  Louvain.  Mis  Kcturcs  were  pruhil.ite.l  by  the  univ«  r- 
sity,  so  he  undertook  to  teach  a  T.atin  school  at  I-rankfort  15J0..r  He 
then  visited  Luther  at  Wittenberg,  the  l^for.mr  dedicating  to  h.m  his 
Advcrsus  Armatum  Virum  Cochlacum.  Pebruary.  ir,2.r  He  earned  Luther  s 
letter  of  .\pril  15.  1.524.  to  Erasmus,  and  shortly  after  his  return  July  o-C, 
was  drowned   while   boating   for   pleasure  on  the   Llbc.     bC,   i,   ^oa. 


184  THE  JOURNEY  TO  WORMS  :     FROM   ERFURT  TO  FRANKFORT. 

that  he  had  started  for  Worms,  but  on  reading  the  Emperor's 
n:!andate  had  changed  his  mind  and  would  not  come,  because 
he  would  not  recant,  and  under  these  circumstances  his 
coming  would  only  make  matters  worse.  If  the  Emperor 
wished  him  to  come,  he  must  withdraw  the  mandate,  or 
order  to  recant.  This  proposition  would  then  be  laid  before 
the  Diet  and  would  there  lead  to  further  delays.  On  the 
other  hand,  Brueck  had  learned  that  the  majority  of  the 
princes,  especially  the  secular,  would  not  tolerate  a  breach 
of  Luther's  safe-conduct.  They  desired  Luther's  coming; 
only  the  Emperor  and  his  Italian  and  Spanish  advisers 
did  not  desire  it.  The  secretary  of  Aragon,  Brueck  reported, 
was  horrified  when  Brueck  told  him  that  Luther  was  coming. 
Priests  at  Worms  were  reported  to  have  said  in  the  con- 
fessional:  "Where  is  Luther?  Ah,  he  will  not  come."  In 
summing  up  his  report,  Brueck  gives  this  as  his  opinion : 
"1  have  no  better  advice  to  give  than  that  Luther  come."^^^) 
But  the  Elector  thought  differently  and  had  Spalatin  suggest 
to  Luther  the  advisability  of  remaining  at  Frankfort. 

Luther's  answ^er — the  first  letter  written  by  him  on  his 
journey — was  promptly  given  April  14: — 

I  am  coming,  dear  Spalatin,  although  Satan  has  tried  to 
prevent  me  by  more  than  one  sickness ;  for  I  have  been  ill  all 
the  way  from  Eisenach,  and  am  yet  ill,  in  a  way  I  have  not 
hitherto  experienced.  But  I  see  that  also  the  mandate  of 
Charles  has  been  published  to  terrify  me.  Truly,  Christ  lives, 
and  we  shall  enter  Worms  in  the  face  of  the  gates  of  hell  and 
the  princes  of  the  air.  I  send  copies  of  the  Emperor's  sum- 
mons. I  think  better  not  to  write  more  until  I  can  see  on  the 
spot  what  is  to  be  done,  lest  perchance  I  should  puff  up  Satan, 
whom  I  propose  rather  to  terrify  arid  despise.  Therefore  pre- 
pare a  lodsing.4'^''*) 

Unflinching  Luther  sticks  to  his  purpose:  Christ,  not 
the  Emperor,  has  summoned  him,  and  he  will  obey  the  Lord. 

We  shall  have  to  interrupt  our  account  of  Luther's 
journey  here  to  note  the  last  desperate  effort  of  the 
Romanists  to  prevent  Luther's  entering  Worms. 


404)  FNU,   I,   pp.   04-6(1. 

405)  XV,  1827   f.;    EB,  3,  120   f . ;   SL,  p.   111. 


THE    CONFERENCE    AT    THE    EBERNRURG.  185 

22.  The  Conference  at  the  Ebernburg. 

At  the  time  when  the  Diet  was  deliberating-  on  tlie  cita- 
tion of  Luther,  a  storm  burst  upon  it  from  the  Ebernburg. 
Hutten  was  watching  the  proceedings  of  the  Diet  with  the 
eyes  of  a  lynx,  and  he  was  kept  reniarkal)ly  well  informed. 
not  only  regarding  events  in  the  open  sessions  of  the  Diet. 
but  also  regarding  the  secret  consultations  that  were  being 
held  among  the  magnates.  Bucer,  who  had  (|uit  IIeidelI)erg. 
was  with  him.  Tn  close  succession  there  issued  from  Ilutten's 
pen  at  this  time  letters  and  pamphlets  addressed  to  prom- 
inent members  of  the  Diet,  to  the  knights,  and  to  the 
Emperor  himself,  which  contained  fierce  invectives  and 
terrible  threats  against  the  Italians  and  their  vicious  propa- 
ganda at  the  imperial  court.  This  literary  noise  of  the 
blustering  knight  would  have  ])een  borne  with  etiuanimity  if 
Hutten  had  not  created  the  impression  that  he  was  backed  by 
the  military  prowess  of  Sickingen.  who  could  furnish  the 
destructive  lightning  for  Hutten's  verbal  thunder.  The 
statesmen  of  Charles  were  in  those  days  expecting  a  coitf^ 
d'etat  from  the  Ebernburg.  Aleander  was  in  mortal  fear. 
and  wrote  to  Rome  that  he  expected  to  be  slain  even  in  the 
arms  of  the  Emperor.  The  Emperor  had  no  army;  the 
Diet  could  not  be  trusted  to  mobilize  an  armed  force  to 
fight  the  powerful  German  knight. 

Under  these  circumstances  Chievres  and  Gattinara 
decided  upon  a  desperate  move,  and  Aleander  resolved  to 
profit  by  it.  A  delegation  was  to  be  sent  to  the  Ebernburg 
to  offer  Sickingen  the  post  of  general  in  tlie  im])erial  army 
and  Hutten  an  imperial  pension.  Honor  and  gold  was  to 
turn  these  enemies  into  allies.  Aleander  planned  to  bring 
Luther,  who  had  meanwhile  started  on  his  journey,  to  the 
Ebernburg  for  a  theological  conference  with  Glapion.  The 
imperial  chamberlain  von  Arnistorf  and  Glapion  formed  tin- 
delegation. 

Their  coming  and  overtures  tickled  the  vanity  of  Sick- 
ingen very  much.  When  he  heard,  moreover,  of  the  plan  to 
brine  Luther  to  his  castle,  he  saw  an  enticing  vision  in  which 


186  THE    CONFERENCE    AT    THE    EBERNBURG. 

the  Ebernburg  stood  out  in  glory  not  only  as  the  great 
political  stronghold,  but  also  as  the  theological  center  of 
Germany.  Armstorf  had  soon  won  Sickingen  for  his  plan, 
and  it  remained  to  win  Hutten.  This  task  fell  to  Glapion. 
Hutten  started  to  confer  with  the  Emperor's  confessor  on  the 
theological  issues  between  Luther  and  Rome,  but  he  was  ill, 
and  Bucer  soon  had  to  relieve  him.  For  six  hours  Glapion 
plied  Bucer  with  such  arguments  as  we  saw  him  use  in  the 
conference  with  Brueck.  He  pretended  to  be  in  essential 
accord  with  Luther,  and  heartily  desirous  of  aiding  him  in 
his  noble  reformatory  work.  Bucer  and  Hutten  were  amazed 
at  the  discovery  that  Luther  had  such  a  great  friend  so  close 
to  the  Emperor.  Presently  they  thought  of  the  mandate 
that  had  been  issued  against  Luther,  and  declared  that  they 
could  not  harmonize  the  publication  of  this  document  with 
Glapion's  statements.  The  confessor  assumed  a  mysterious 
air  and  whispered  to  them  siib  rosa  a  great  state  secret: 
the  mandate  was  a  mere  sham  to  deceive  the  kings  of 
France  and  England,  and  the  Papists  in  general,  who  had 
threatened  to  start  a  religious  war  against  the  Emperor. 
Hutten  and  Bucer  swallowed  this  bait,  and  now  reported  to 
Sickingen  that  a  splendid  opportunity  had  arrived  for  settling 
the  entire  Luther  controversy  at  the  "Hospice  of  Righteous- 
ness," the  Ebernburg.  A  conference  between  Glapion  and 
Luther  would  remove  all  difficulties.  For  this  conference 
every  preparation  was  now  made.  Hutten  sent  a  letter  of 
apology  to  the  Emperor  for  his  violent  letters,  and,  in 
general,  "became  as  tame  as  a  lamb."  When  he  discovered, 
about  ten  days  later,  how  egregiously  he  had  been  duped  by 
the  oily  Franciscan,  he  burst  forth  in  a  literary  fit  of  rage 
to  Erasmus: — 

I  know  of  no  knave  more  desperate,  more  fit  and  armed 
for  every  rascality,  or  one  who  is  such  a  past-master  in  hypocrisy, 
deception,  lies,  tricks,  blandishments,  fraudulent  practises,  than 
that  Franciscan.  A  lying  mouth,  perfidious  eyes,  a  brazen  fore- 
head, a  dissembling  gait — the  head,  the  feet,  the  hands,  the  hair, 
everything  molded  after  the  model  and  lineaments  of  an  arch- 
scoundrel  and  deceiver — that  is  Glapion! 


LUTHER    ENTERS    WORMS.  187 

Erasmus  chuckled  and  sagely  remarked  something  about 
eating  a  bushel  of  salt  with  a  person  before  you  can  have 
a  competent  opinion  of  him.  Erasmus  thought  that  he  had 
eaten  several  bushels,  but  in  Glapion's  case  he  would  have  to 
increase  the  quantity  still  more.  Erasmus  also  declined 
any  similarity  between  himself  and  Glapion  which  Hutten 
had  implied,  and  suggested  that  the  relationship  between 
himself  and  the  confessor  was  about  as  close  as  that  between 
a  camel  and  a  fox.  Erasmus  was  thinking  of  personal 
experiences  which  he  had  had  with  Glapion  when  he  chose  a 
camel  as  the  proper  symbol  of  himself  and  a  fox  as  that 
of  Glapion. 

When  Luther  was  about  to  enter  Worms,  Spalatin  sent 
a  hurried  note  to  the  Elector,  saying  that  he  had  just 
received  reliable  information  that  Glapion  was  Luther's 
deadly  enemy.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  information 
came  from  the  Ebernburg.'*^^) 


23.  Luther  Enters  Worms. 

The  impression  which  Luther  had  received  from  Spala- 
tin's  message  of  the  conditions  at  Worms  w^as  that  his 
coming  was  dreaded.  This  only  served  to  hearten  him 
to  his  task;  he  saw  in  the  confusion  of  his  enemies  the 
hand  of  God,  who  was  making  his  enemies  cowards.  Many 
years  later  he  said  that  "they  were  more  afraid  of  him  than 
lie  of  them,"-'^')  and  that  ''if  he  had  been  as  frightened 
as  the  Archbishop  of  Mayence,  he  would  not  have  entered 
Worms."^^^)  Luther's  impression  was  correct;  Aleandcr 
reported  to  Rome    that    the    imperialists    seemed    thundcr- 


406)  Since  the  scheme  related  in  tliis  chapter  proved  entirely  abortive, 
onlv  a  very  condensed  account  has  been  given  of  it.  The  evidence  is  con- 
tained in  Aleander's  dispatches  of  April  .'')  and  1.3  (BAT.,  pp.  119-142;  Kn.\. 
pp.  n:M32:  H.\I„  pp.  180-190;  ST.  1.  .".08  ff. ;  .'il.'i-Sn).  m  tlic  .Lis  of  the 
Diet,   II,  287.  and  in   Ilutten's  Letters   (Boecking  II,  21-43). 

407)  XXII.    1373. 

408)  XV,  1338. 


188  LUTHER   ENTERS    WORMS. 

Struck  when  they  had  certain  information  of  Luther's  com- 
ii-ig  409)     Ygj^-  yQj-,  Warbeck  wrote  to  Duke  John : — 

The  Romanists  were  not  delighted  at  the  news,  but  were 
seized  with  no  small  fear,  for  they  had  always  entertained  the 
hope  that  Luther  would  not  come,  which  would  have  given 
them  cause  to  proceed  against  him.  But  the  old  God  is  still 
living  and  orders  all  things  according  to  His  pleasure.-*io) 

Spalatin's  messengers  seem  to  have  traveled  with  Luther 
as  far  as  Oppenheim,  and  the  conversation  with  them,  which 
Luther  continued  on  the  way,  induced  Luther  to  write 
another  letter  to  his  friend,  which  was  dispatched  from 
their  next  halting-place,  Oppenheim,  April  15.  This  letter 
is  lost,  but  some  of  its  contents  have  been  preserved  in 
Spalatin's  German  Annals,  where  Spalatin  relates  that  Luther 
wrote  him  from  Oppenheim  that  he  meant  to  enter  Worms 
even  if  there  were  as  many  devils  in  it  as  tiles  on  its 
roofs.^ii) 

At  Oppenheim,  Aleander's  and  Glapion's  last  scheme  to 
intercept  Luther  and  lead  him  into  their  trap  at  the  Ebern- 
burg  was  wrecked.  True  to  the  agreement  of  the  conspir- 
ators, Bucer  presented  himself  before  Luther  at  an  inn  at 
Oppenheim.  He  had  brought  a  number  of  Sickingen's  horse- 
men with  him.  Luther  at  a  later  time  related  the  interview 
with  Bucer  to  his  friends: — 

Glapion  had  desired  that  Sickingen  should  invite  Luther  to 
his  castle,  and  His  Imperial  Majesty  would  delegate  a  number 
of  learned  men  to  hold  a  conference  with  Luther.  According- 
ly, Sickingen  sent  Martin  Bucer  with  a  squad  of  horsemen  to 
meet   Luther  and  offer  him   every  protection. 

In  his  Table  Talk  Luther  says: — 

Then  Bucer,  who  was  at  that  time  in  Sickingen's  service, 
came  to  me  and  tried  to  persuade  me  to  come  to  Sickingen's 
Ebernburg.  where  Glapion.  the  Emperor's  confessor,  wished  to 
confer  with  me  regarding  certain  matters.  T  acted  as  if  I  did 
not  perceive  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Bishop  of  Mayence 
to   lead   me   about   until   the   time   of  my   safe-conduct   had    ex- 


109)    RAT.,   p.   130;  KDA.  p.   l.'.l;  SC,  1.  .''.19. 

410)  FNTT,   p.   08. 

411)  In  Cyprian's  edition  of  1718.  p.  ^8;  cp.  XV,  1828.  In  Luther's 
Table  Talk  tliis  remark  is  addressed  to  Sturm.  On  this  long  journey  Luther 
surely    had   frequent   occasion   to   make   similar   remarks. 


LUTHER  ENTERS   WORMS.  189 

pired.  I  said  to  Bucer :  "I  shall  continue  my  journey;  if  the 
Emperor's  confessor  has  anything  to  say  to  me,  he  can  do  that 
in  Worms. "^12) 

With  this  cool  remark  Luther  brushed  aside  the  last 
obstacle  that  had  been  put  in  his  way  on  the  journey  to 
Worms. 

Meanwhile  Spalatin's  messengers  arrived  at  Worms,  and 
the  report  was  spread  that  Luther  had  asked  that  his  lodging 
be  made  ready  for  him.  Jonas  and  the  gentlemen  from 
Erfurt  who  had  preceded  Luther  at  once  prepared  for  his 
reception.  They  gathered  as  many  of  Luther's  friends  as 
tliey  could  reach,  and  at  ten  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing. April  16,  an  imposing  group  of  horsemen  rode  out 
of  the  Mainz  Gate  to  meet  Luther.  Crowds  of  people, 
some  mounted,  the  majority  on  foot,  followed  them.  Secre- 
tary ^^ogel  estimated  their  number  at  two  thousand,  and  said 
that  they  walked  more  than  two  and  a  half  miles  on  the 
road  to  Oppenheim.  The  citizens  of  Worms  were  enjoying 
their  forenoon  luncheon  when  the  watchman  on  the  eastern 
turret  winded  his  bugle,  and  everybody  rushed  to  the  window. 
Every  report  of  the  event  has  noted  this  to  us  trivial  circum- 
stance that  Luther's  arrival  interrupted  the  luncheon.  So 
Peutinger's  of  Augsburg,  who  happened  to  be  the  guest  of 
Duke  George  of  Saxony  that  morning,  and  \>it's  von  War- 
l)eck.  The  latter  at  once  sent  Duke  John  a  detailed  account 
of  the  scenes  he  had  witnessed.  First  came  the  herald  in  his 
official  attire,  with  his  attendant:  next  the  vehicle  which  we 
saw  leaving  ^Vittenberg  with  its  four  occupants.  Behind  the 
vehicle  rode  Jonas  with  his  attendant,  Bernard  von  Hirsch- 
feld,  Hans  Schott,  Albrecht  von  Tj'ndenau,  and  many  noble- 
men with  their  attendants.  Crowds  of  people  were  in  the 
street  "spite  of  the  hour  of  luncheon."  Xot  far  from  the 
Swan  Inn  on  the  Kaniuficrrrgassr  the  vehicle  stopped  at  the 
Hostel  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John.  Here  Luther  was  to  share 
the  lodging  of  a  part  of  the  Elector's  retinue.  Soon  a  line  of 
guests  formed  who  wished  to  call  on  Luther.     .Among  them 


412.)    W.    ISU.j   f.;    Erl.    Eil.    \l.   3  and  (J-1.   307   f. 


190  LUTHER   ENTERS    WORMS. 

were  counts,  noblemen,  and  several  princes.  For  hours  this 
stream  of  callers  continued.  All  Worms  was  agog  with 
excitement,  and  the  majority  of  Luther's  visitors  went  aw^ay 
well  satisfied-^i^"^)  At  the  Swan  Inn  were  the  headquarters 
of  the  Prince  Palatine,  Louis  V,  and  next  door  to  him  the 
Elector  had  a  quiet  lodging,  about  ten  paces  from  the 
Dominican  monastery. 

Aleander  was  just  scaling  a  dispatch  when  the  hubbub 
in  tlic  streets  drew  him  outdoors  to  inquire  the  meaning. 
He  returned  hastily  and  added  the  following  note  to  his 
report: — ■ 

I  had  just  closed  my  letter  when  I  learned  from  several 
reports  and  from  the  running  of  the  people  that  the  great  heresi- 
arch  was  entering  the  city.  I  sent  one  of  my  people  out,  who 
informed  me  that  about  a  hundred  horsemen,  presumably  Sick- 
ingen's,  escorted  him  to  the  gate.  Sitting  in  a  wagon  with 
three  companions,  he  entered  the  town,  surrounded  by  about 
eight  riders,  and  took  up  his  dwelling  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Saxon  Elector.  As  he  left  the  wagon,  a  priest  threw  his 
arms  around  him  and  touched  his  gown  three  times,  and  after- 
wards boasted  of  it  as  if  he  had  had  a  relic  of  the  greatest 
saint  in  his  hands.  I  expect  they  will  soon  say  he  works 
miracles.  As  this  Luther  alighted,  he  looked  around  with  his 
demoniac  eyes  and  said,  "God  will  be  with  me."  Then  he  en- 
tered a  room  where  many  gentlemen  visited  him,  with  ten  or 
twelve  of  whom  he  dined.  After  the  meal  was  over,  the  whole 
world  flocked  to  see  him. 

What  will  His  Holiness,  what  will  the  world  now  say  of 
the  credit  and  good  faith,  of  the  resolutions  and  promises  of 
the  Emperor?  God  forgive  those  who  have  counseled  him  so 
ill,  or  ratlier,  who  have  injured  and  misguided  him.  Your  Lord- 
ship would  not  be  surprised,  but  amazed,  by  these  actions.  Yet 
there  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  bad  result  of  our  efforts ; 
while  the  imperialists  promise  miracles,  they  take  the  very  worst 
measures,  so  that,  if  they  do  not  act  with  evil  intent,  we  must 
at  least  consider  them  not  only  cowardly,  but  positively  sense- 
less. Already  the  Elector  of  Saxony  triumphs  and  demeans 
himself  like  an  emperor  or  king,  does  what  he  pleases  against 
God  and  reason,  and  does  so  all  the  more  since  the  Elector  of 
Brandenburg  has    announced   to   the  Emperor   his   intention   of 


413)  XV,  1836  flf. 


BEFORE  TTIE  CRISIS.  191 

marrying  his  first-born  to  Lady  Rence."*^-*)  sister  of  the  Most 
Christian  Queen. •^i-'"*)  On  this  account  the  Saxon  is  treated  more 
respectfully  than  ever.  But  they  ought  to  know  what  I,  a  long 
time  ago,  told  Chievres  privately,  that  one  fine  day  they  would 
find  themselves  betrayed  by  this  Elector  and  other  German 
princes.  This  is  the  present  state  of  affairs,  and  it  will  get  worse 
daily,  as  it  usually  does  at  German  diets.  Then,  as  the  im- 
perialists have  reckoned  more  with  men  than  with  God,  the  Lord 
of  Heaven  will  mock  them.^ic) 

What  a  beautiful  close!  Tiie  gentleman  wlio  i)cnnc(i  this 
pious  sentiment  had  during  the  last  two  weeks  showered 
gifts  and  bribes  in  lavisli  profusion  on  Rome's  faithful  ones 
at  Worms  to  confirm  them  in  their  loyalty. '^"^  He  did  not 
trust  in  God,  TTis  connection  with  religion  was  mere  form. 
On  Good  Friday  he  informs  Medici  he  had  "paid  a  little 
attention  to  his  soul,"  for  it  was  observed  by  the  Elector 
that  His  Majesty  on  that  day  was  "spiritual";  in  other  words, 
ordinary  business  stopped  on  that  day.  Personally  Aleander 
was  an  infidel. 


24.  Before  the  Crisis. 

Luther's  improvised  levee  was  continued  till  late  at  night. 
Among  the  noblemen  of  rank  who  visited  Luther  were  some 
who,  on  learning  that  Luther  was  coming  to  Worms,  had 
traveled  many  miles  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  see  this 
sublime  son  of  a  peasant  stand  before  the  son  of  the  Caesars. 
Only  one  person  did  not  call  on  Luther,  although  Luther  sent 
a  messenger  to  inform  him  of  his  arrival:  Glapion,  who 
bad  so  much  that  he  must  communicate  to  Luther  while- the 
latter  was  away  from  Worms,  but  had  nothing  to  say  now 
that  he  was  at  Worms.  His  absence  that  evening  was  indeed 
conspicuous  to  all  of  Luther's  friends,  and  they  drew  their 


414)  Renee  dc  France  in  1528  married  Ercole  d'Este,  ^Duke  of 
Ferrara.  In  1536  Calvin  visited  her  court  and  won  her  sympathy  for  the 
Reformation.  ,       .,       /•  t-         •      i 

415)  Claude  de  France,  daughter  of  Louis  XII,  and  wife  of  Francis   I. 

416)  BAL,   p.   143   f.;    KDA.    p.    133    f . ;    SC,   1.    521. 

417)  Hausrath  has  compared  the  ominous  quiet  which  rtigncd  at  the 
Diet  regarding  Luther's  affair,  while  the  latter  was  on  his  way  to  Worms, 
to  "the  silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour'  (Rev.  8,  1  f) 
and  the  marking  of  the  faithful  in  their  foreheads.      HAL,  p.  169, 


192  BEFORE  THE  CRISIS. 

own  conclusions  from  it  regarding  the  dark  schemes  of  the 
man  and  his  inscrutable  character. 

Luther's  conversation  with  his  visitors  was  mutually 
comforting.  Not  one  of  the  visitors  spoke  a  discouraging 
word  to  Luther,  but  all  frankly  expressed  their  joy  at  his 
arrival.  Not  a  few  of  them  asserted  that  if  any  harm  were 
attempted,  the  miscreant  would  be  called  to  a  prompt  and 
severe  reckoning.  On  the  other  hand,  Luther's  calm  and 
cheerful  spirit  and  the  elevating  tenor  of  his  talk  were  a 
spiritual  tonic  to  such  as  had  become  despondent.  vSpalatin's 
report  of  the  scenes  in  Luther's  lodging  that  night  reflect 
the  author's  deep  joy  and  satisfaction.  We  remember  that 
Spalatin  himself  had  but  a  few  hours  before  tried  to  stop 
Luther  from  entering  Worms. 

It  was  a  comfort  and  admonition,  he  writes,  to  many  a  pious 
Christian  heart  that  the  Christian  Doctor  Martin  appeared  so 
resolute,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that,  while  he  was  under  an  im- 
perial safe-conduct,  a  mandate  was  published  against  him,  in 
the  name  of  His  Imperial  Majesty,  which  his  enemies  hoped 
would  force  him  to  return,  thus  giving  them  a  chance  to  proceed 
against  him  as  a  disobedient  slacker.  But  the  good  father  did 
come,  and  showed  such  a  Christian  spirit  that  we  could  see 
there  was  nothing  on  earth  that  he  was  afraid  of,  and  he  would 
rather  sacrifice  his  life  a  hundred  times  than  recant  a  single 
letter,  unless  he  were  convinced  from  the  Divine  Word.^iS) 

Owing  to  the  constant  coming  and  going  of  callers  that 
evening  Luther  had  no  opportunity  for  composing  his  mind, 
and  when  the  last  guest  had  departed,  Luther  could  not 
retire  to  a  quiet  room;  for  he  had  to  share  his  room  with 
the  noblemen  von  Schott  and  von  Hirschfeld.  The  other 
rooms  in  the  house  were  occupied  by  Frederick  von  Thun 
and  Philip  von  Feilitzsch,  members  of  the  Elector's  retinue, 
and  by  the  imperial  Marshall  Utz  (Ulrich)  von  Pappenheim. 
Still  Luther  resorted  to  prayer  even  in  his  congested  quar- 
ters. Qne  of  his  prayers  during  the  Diet  has  been  preserved. 
The  exact  occasion  on  which  it  was  spoken  cannot  be  de- 
termined, but  judging  from  its  fervor  it  is  likely  that  he 
spoke  it  during  the  first  days  of  his  trial ;  for  it  fairly  throbs 


418)   FNU,  I,  p.  69. 


BEFORE  THE  CRISIS.  ]*)?) 

with  the  intense  emotions  which  critical  moments  bcoct  in 
godly  souls : — 

Almighty  and  eternal  God!  What  a  paltry  thing  is  this 
world!  And  yet  it  causes  men  to  gape  and  stare  at  it.  How 
small  and  puny  is  men's  trust  in  God !  How  tender  and  frait 
is  their  flesh!  And  how  powerful  and  energetic  is  the  devil 
fhrough  the  agency  of  his  apostles  and  tmrldly  philosophers ! 
How  soon  do  the  men  of  this  ivorld  become  disheartened, 
withdrazi'  from  a  task,  slip  away,  and  run  the  common 
coi'rse.  the  broad  way  do7C)i  to  hell  that  zvas  prepared  for 
the  wicked !  Their  eyes  are  attracted  only  by  ivhat  is  splen- 
did and  pozverful,  grand  and  mighty,  and  by  zvhai  is  in  great 
repute  If  I,  too,  zvere  to  turn  my  eyes  to  such  things,  I 
zi'ould  be  undone;  the  bell  to  toll  my  doom  zvould  already 
be  cast. 

O  God!  O  God !  O  my  God !  Thou  who  art  my  God,  be 
zi'itJi  me  in  this  conflict  zvith  the  reason  and  zvisdom  of  all  the 
z^'orld.  I  pledge  Thee.  7'hou  must  do  it,  'Thou  alone.  This 
affair  is  not  mine,  but  Thine.  Personally  I  have  no  business 
here  zvith  these  great  lords  of  the  zvorld.  Why,  I  too  could 
spend  my  days  in  comfort  and  ease,  zvithout  zvorry.  But, 
O  Lord,  this  affair  is  Thine,  and  it  is  righteous  and  concerns 
eternity.  Stand  by  me.  Than  faithful  and  everlasting  God. 
J  rely  on  no  man.  That  zvould  be  futile  and  vain;  for  all 
tliat  is  carnal  and  smacks  of  the  flesh  is  lame  and  halting. 

O  God,  O  God,  dost  Thou  not  hear  me,  my  God?  Art 
'Thou  dead?  Nay!  Thou  canst  not  die.  Thou  merely  hidest 
Thyself.  Hast  Thou  not  chosen  me  for  this  task?  I  ask 
Th.ee;  for  I  knozv  zvith  a  certainty  that  Thou  hast  chosen  me. 
Be  it  so.  Thy  zvill,  O  God,  be  done.  For  all  my  life  I  never 
had  in  mind  to  rise  against  such  great  lords,  and  I  never 
framed  such  a  purpose. 

O  my  God,  succor  me  in  the  name  of  Thy  dear  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  zvho  shall  be  my  Protector  and  Deliz'erer.  yea,  my 
Rock  and  my  Fortress,  through  the  mighty  strengthening  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

DAU,     TRIBUNAL     OP      CAJ^SAR.  13 


194  BEFORE  THE  CRISIS. 

Lord,  zvhcre  dost  Thou  keep  Thyself?  0  my  God,  where 
art  Thou?  Come,  O  come !  I  am  ready  to  lay  down  my  life, 
meek  as  a  lamb.  For  the  cause  is  righteous,  and  it  is  Thine. 
Therefore  I  shall  not  part  from  Thee  forevermore.  In  Thy 
name,  that  is  settled.  Because  of  my  conscience  the  world 
shall  have  to  leave  me  unconquered,  even  though  it  ivere 
filled  with  devils,  and  though  my  body,  zvhich  is  the  zvork 
and  creature  of  Thy  hands,  should  be  ruined  and  shattered. 
Nevertheless  Thy  Word  and  Spirit  zvill  be  a  szveet  compen- 
sation to  me.  After  all,  it  is  only  the  body  that  causes 
zvorry;  the  soul  is  Thine  and  belongs  to  Thee.  It  zmll  remain 
Thine  forever.    Amen.     God,  help  me!    Amen.'^'^^^ 

The  next  morning  the  Marshal  of  the  Empire,  Ulrich 
von  Pappenheim,  entered  Luther's  room  "with  due  rever- 
ence." Ominous  name !  A  Pappenheim  had  summoned 
Huss  before  Emperor  Sigismund  a  hundred  years  before.  The 
gentleman  came  to  announce  to  Luther  officially  that  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  was  to  appear  in  the  presence  of 
the  Emperor  and  the  Estates  of  the  Empire,  to  be  told  for 
what  reason  and  to  what  end  he  had  been  summoned.  The 
fateful  moment,  then,  which  had  arrayed  the  members  of  the 
Empire  against  one  another  had  arrived. 

Six  hours  still  remained  to  Luther  for  collecting  his 
thoughts,  but  even  these  were  reduced  by  a  call  of  distress 
that  was  sent  him  by  Hans  von  Minkwitz,  a  Saxon  noble- 
man, who  was  ill  and  wished  Luther  to  shrive  him.  The 
excommunicated  heretic  did  not  shame  the  bold  confidence 
of  the  knight,  but  went  to  him,  heard  his  confession,  and 
gave  him  the  Sacrament. 

How  did  Luther  spend  his  time  till  four  o'clock?  Since 
we  are  absolutely  without  information  on  these  hours  of 
leisure,  the  field  is  open  to  speculation.  A  natural  assump- 
tion is  that  Luther  spent  these  hours  in  prayer  and  medita- 
tion. Nor  is  it  unreasonable  to  assume  that  he  was  in  con- 
sultation with  Schurf,  his  legal  adviser,  with  Spalatin, 
Brueck,  and  the  Saxon  counselors,  regarding  possible  issues 


419)    X,    1420   flf. 


BEFORE  THE  CRISIS.  195 

that  might  arise  during  his  hearing.  But  since  everything 
was  problematical,  since  the  Emperor  had  not  published  a 
program  of  the  proceedings  against  Luther,  it  is  unwar- 
ranted to  speak  of  a  well-thought-out  plan  or  tactical  move- 
ment that  was  carefully  elaborated  for  Luther,  and  which 
he  then  carried  out  before  the  Diet  with  the  skill  of  a  vet- 
eran actor."^-^) 

However,  the  Papists  were  busy  preparing  the  program 
for  Luther's  trial.  Aleander  was  not  yet  certain  that  Luther 
had  arrived  when  he  sent  the  following  note  to  Glapion 
April  16:— 

There  is  a  frequent  rumor  that  Luther  has  already  landed 
here.  This  leads  mc  to  fear  that  the  Saxon  Elector  has  to-day 
announced  a  meeting  of  the  Diet  in  order  that  Martin  may  there 
pour  forth  his  poison.  Be  pleased,  therefore,  to  meet  this 
eventuality  with  such  obstacles  as  you  can  devise.  For  it  is  no 
trifle  that  is  at  stake,  but  something  that  concerns  the  Church 
of  God,  the  authority  of  the  Pontiff,  and  the  honor  or  shame 
of  your  Emperor.'*2i) 

What  else  Aleander  did  appears  from  his  report  of  April 
17   to   Medici : — 

Early  this  morning  I  conferred  with  the  Confessor,  in  order 
to  give  directions  agreeably  to  our  purpose.  Then  in  the  palace, 
where  they  had  as  yet  come  to  no  decision  on  any  question,  I 
arranged  that  the  Electors  should  be  summoned  before  the 
Emperor  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  other  princes 
and  estates  at  four,  and  that  then  Luther,  too,  should  appear, 
simply  to  answer  the  questions  put  to  him,  and  not  to  be  heard 
further.  I  myself  wrote  the  orders  in  question,  but  they  were 
not  presented  in  our  CCaraccioli's  and  Aleander'sl  name ;  for 
in  our  written  overtures  we  have  always  been  governed  by  the 
text  of  the  bull,  because  it  is  not  for  us  to  choose  another  way, 
and  in  the  end  that  is  the  best  way  which  takes  us  to  the 
goal.422) 

'  The  conference  at  the  palace  was  attended  by  both  nun- 
cios, and  by  Gattinara  and  Glapion.  Aleander  does  not  tell 
the  truth  about  the  prominent  part  he  played  at  this  confer- 
ence.    The  proceedings  were  these:     A  resolution  was  sub- 


420)  This  is  the  extreme  view   of  ITausrath.     HAL,  pp.  24C-8. 

421)  BAL,  p.   142. 

422)  BAL,  p.  145  f . ;  KDA,  p.  135.;  SC,  1,  525. 


196  BEFORE  THE  CRISIS. 

niitted  by  Gattinara  and  Glapion  jointly  as  to  the  procedure 
to  be  adopted  by  the  Emperor  in  the  trial  of  Luther.  It 
was  chiefly  Glapion  that  formulated  the  resolution,  which 
provided  as  follows :  The  nuncii  are  to  enter  a  statement 
into  the  protocol  of  this  meeting  that  the  present  resolution 
did  not  originate  with  them;  however,  if  the  Emperor  wished 
to  pursue  this  way,  he  might  do  so  upon  his  own  initiative. 
(This  meant  that  the  whole  trial  of  Luther  in  an  open  ses- 
sion of  the  Diet  was  against  the  advice  of  Rome,  and  Rome 
would  assume  no  responsibility  for  it.)  The  following  is  to 
be  the  mode  of  procedure :  Well-intentioned  and  well-in- 
formed persons  are  to  ask  Luther  by  order  of  the  Emperor 
whether  he  acknowledges  the  books  that  are  circulating 
under  his  name  as  his;  if  not,  he  is  to  give  a  written  dec- 
laration to  that  effect.  If  he  acknowledges  them  as  his 
works,  and  after  due  admonition  refuses  to  recant  the 
articles  condemned  by  the  Pope,  as  well  as  those  which  con- 
tain contradictions  to  the  Creed,  the  Councils,  the  Decretals, 
etc.,  and  also  his  abusive  writing,  the  Emperor  is  to  take 
measures  against  him  without  delay  and  without  permitting 
any  subterfuge.  If  Luther  recants  or  interprets  his  writings 
in  a  fair  Catholic  sense,  and  abjures  that  view  of  his  teach- 
ing which  is  current  among  the  clergy  and  the  people,  he 
is  to  make  a  public  declaration  to  that  effect  in  a  book  and 
then  to  be  restored  to  favor.  If  he  disavows  the  authorship 
of  some  of  the  books  ascribed  to  him,  these  are  to  be  speci- 
fied in  the  protocol,  and  as  to  the  rest  the  process  afore 
described  is  to  be  followed.  Meanwhile  the  books  are  to  be 
sequestered,  and  later  burned,  or  treated  in  accordance  with 
a  judicial  decision  that  is  to  be  rendered  concerning  them.'*23) 
Nor  was  this  all.  It  was  of  considerable  moment  to  find 
a  reliable  person  to  do  the  questioning  of  Luther  in  the  Diet. 
Aleander  found  that  person — by  an  adorable  chance  ! — for 
the  man  lived  next  door  to  him.  He  expresses  his  delight 
at  this  providential  discovery  to  Medici: — 


423)   KDA,    p.    135    f. 


Luther's  first  appearance  before  the  diet.  197 

Chance  entrusted  the  duty  of  questioning  Luther  to  the 
Official  of  Treves,'*^-!)  a  learned  and  orthodox  man,  who  is  very 
conscientious  in  carrying  out  the  apostolic  and  imperial  man- 
dates. In  Treves  he  burned  the  heretical  books  so  thoroughly 
that  not  one  was  left.  This  truly  excellent  man,  for  whom 
Ciod  be  praised,  lives  in  the  same  house  with  me,  in  the  very 
next  room.'*25) 

This  lucky  find  of  Aleander  cost  the  Curia  a  snug  (jniti- 
ficazionc,  and  Medici  is  promptly  reminded  not  to  delay  send- 
ing a  generous  reward  for  Eck.  The  Curia  understood,  of 
course,  that  Aleander  had  held  out  this  gratificazionc  to 
Eck  w^hen  he  providentially  discovered  this  ruby  of  a  faith- 
ful official  of  the  Empire. 

The  program  as  arranged  had  to  be  ready  at  two  o'clock 
for  the  Electors'  meeting.  The  Elector  Frederick,  when  he 
heard  Eck  of  Treves  mentioned  at  this  meeting  as  the  per- 
son entrusted  with  the  questioning  of  Luther,  may  have  cal- 
culated that  this  official,  being  a  subaltern  of  his  friend, 
Archbishop  Greiffenklau,  would  discharge  his  task  in  a  fair 
and  upright  manner.  He  did  not  know  that  Eck  had  been 
providentially  found  and  "gratificationized"  by  Aleander. 
Now,  if  Luther  was  prompted  how  to  act  at  his  hearing  so 
as  to  thwart  the  scheme  of  Aleander  and  Glapion,  the  infor- 
mation necessary  for  that  prompting  must  have  come  out  of 
the  Electors'  meeting  between  two  and  four  o'clock.  It  is, 
of  course,  possible  that  such  information  was  conveyed  to 
Luther,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was. 


25.  Luther's  First  Appearance  Before  the  Diet. 

Marshal  Pappenheim  and  Sturm,  tlic  herald,  at  the  stroke 
of  four  o'clock,  came  to  conduct  Luther  to  the  Bischofshof, 


424)  Jolin  YLck,  or  von  Eck.  or  von  der  Eckcn.  not  to  be  confouivlccJ 
witli  the  theologian  of  Ingolstadt  who  debated  with  I.uthcr  at  LeinziR,  was 
a  jurist  of  an  old  family  of  Treves,  in  which  diocese  he  held  various 
ecclesiastical  preferments.  Tn  151:")  he  was  entrusted  with  a  mission  to 
Rome,  and  was  now  the  leading  minister  of  the  Archbishop,  who  had 
general  charge  of  Luther's  case  at  the  Diet.  Eck  was  married  m  1523,  and 
died  in   1524. 

425)  SC,    1.    520, 


198  Luther's  first  appearance  before  the  diet. 

where  the  Emperor  and  his  brother,  Archduke  Ferdinand 
of  Austria,  had  their  quarters.  In  the  upper  story  of  this 
hug-e  building  was  a  large  hall,  in  which  the  sessions  of  the 
Diet  were  held.  The  street  was  jammed  with  people  as 
Luther  left  the  Hostel  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John.  He  got 
as  far  as  the  Swan  Inn ;  then  his  guides  decided  to  take 
him  to  the  Diet  by  a  circuitous  route.  They  passed  through 
the  inn  where  the  Prince  Palatine  lodged,  and  went  back 
to  the  rear  of  Luther's  lodging,  where  the  Knights  had  a 
garden  that  adjoined  the  city  walls;  thence  they  made  their 
way  over  private  paths  into  the  Bischofshof.  This  was  done 
''lest  Luther  be  injured  by  the  people,"  who  had  gathered 
in  the  street  leading  to  the  Emperor's  quarters.  Many,  when 
they  learned  what  was  going  on,  came  running  and  wanted 
to  enter  the  palace,  but  the  guards  forced  them  back.  Many 
climbed  on  the  roofs  to  see  Doctor  Martin.'*^'') 

Luther  had  to  wait  in  the  lobby  on  the  first  floor  till  six 
o'clock  before  he  was  called  upstairs.  The  Bischofshof, 
too,  was  crowded  to  the  utmost,  and  as  Luther  forged  his 
way  through  this  congested  mass  of  curious  men,  many  a 
word  of  encouragement  was  addressed  to  him — "to  be  brave 
and  intrepid,  to  act  like  a  man,  and  not  to  be  afraid  of  those 
.who  can  kill  the  body  only."^28)  c;q  ^j^^  Saxon  official  report 
relates.429) 

It  is  possible  that  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  re- 
nowned General  George  von  Frundsberg,  who  attended  the 
Diet,  patted  Luther  on  the  shoulder  as  he  passed  through 
the  door,  and  said  to  him :  "Little  monk,  you  are  going 
forward  to  take  up  a  position  such  as  I  and  many  a  captain 
have  not  occupied  in  our  most  critical  battles.  If  you  are  in 
the  right  and  sure  of  your  cause,  go  ahead  in  God's  name, 
and  be  assured  that  God  will  not  forsake  you."^^^) 


426)  BAL,  p.  146;  KDA,  p.   136;   SC,  1,  526. 

427)  XV,  1918. 

428)  Matt.  10,  28. 

429)  Acta  Luthcri  Vormatias,  published  in  May,  1521. 

4.S0)   This    story    is    published    first,    as    an    old    tradition,    in    Cyriakus 
Spangenberg's  Adelsspiegel   (B,  II,  54),  in  1591. 


Luther's  first  appearance  pefore  ttte  diet.  199 

Luther  entered  tlie  hall  cheerfully.  Aleander  reports 
that  he  came  in  laiighin.o.  WJion  he  had  reached  the  open 
space  in  front,  he  looked  around  and  noticed  Peutinger  of 
Augsburg,  who  had  been  his  host  during  the  trial  before 
Cajetan.  Without  the  least  embarrassment  he  greeted  him, 
"Ah,  Doctor  Peutinger,  are'you  here,  too?""*-^^)  And  now 
he  began  to  survey,  with  self-possessed  curiosity,  the  gor- 
geous  scene  before   him,   which   Myconius   has   described: — 

There  sat  the  Emperor  with  all  the  Electors  in  their  majesty, 
surrounded  by  all  the  princes,  l)ishoi)s,  and  prelates  of  the  Em- 
pire. The  counts,  lords,  and  knig^hts  were  standing.  When 
Luther  had  to  come  forward,  there  was  such  a  congestion  that 
halberdiers  had  to  make  a  way  for  him  with  their  lances,  so 
thcit  he  might  step  Ijcfore  the  Emperor.  There  were  four  car- 
dinals and  legates  from  Rome  present,  not  to  mention  other 
ambassadors,  an  innumerable  throng,  and  many  learned  men.^-"'-) 

Aleander  was  indignant  at  Luther's  careless  ease ;  he 
re])orted  to  Medici : — 

Li  tlu-  i)resence  of  the  Emperor  he  was  continually  moving 
his  head  hith.cr  and  thither,  up  and  down. 

Aleander's  view  of  a  proper  bearing  for  Luther  on  this 
occasion  probably  was  that  he  ought  to  have  crouched 
before  the  great  Johnnies  like  a  scared  rabbit.  The  Emperor 
scrutinized  Luther,  and  was  disgusted.  Aleander  was  de- 
lighted to  be  able  to  report: — 

Luther's  appearance  has  had  the  most  salutary  consequences ; 
for  now  the  Emperor  and  almost  all  other  persons  recognize 
that  he  is  a  foolish,  immoral,  crazy  man.  At  the  very  first 
glance  the  Emperor  said,  "He  will  never  make  me  a  hcrctic."'*33) 

As  Luther's  eyes  were  roaming  over  the  scenes  before 
him,  he  noticed  a  collection  of  books,  and  looking  closely, 
he  relates: — 

There  lay  all  my  books  in  a  row  on  a  bench.  \\  here  they 
may  have  gotten  them  I  do  not  know."*-"^"*) 

Tt  had  cost  Aleander  nuich  j)atient  searching  in  book- 
stores to  make  that  collection. 


431)  Koldc,   Avalecta.   p.   50. 

432)  Histotia,  etc.,  ed.  Cyprian,  p.  89. 

433)  BAL,  p.   170;   KDA,  p.   158;    SC,   1,553. 

434)  XV,     1878. 


200  Luther's  first  appearance  before  the  diet. 

Next  Luther  was  attracted  by  a  pronounced  Hebrew 
physiognomy — he  was  looking  at  Aleander.  To  the  end  of 
his  life  Luther  insisted  that  the  nuncio  was  a  Jew. 

And  now  he  is  looking  at  the  Emperor :  a  pale,  immature 
youth,  sitting  among  the  somber  Electors,  the  Spanish  cour- 
tiers, and  the  scarlet-robed  cardinals,  who  were  looking  dag- 
gers at  Luther,  On  a  later  occasion  he  said  the  Emperor 
was  sitting  "like  an  innocent  lamb  among  swine  and  dogs, 
yea,  among  a  host  of  demons. "^^^)  This  sentiment  does 
honor  to  Luther's  heart,  but  the  Emperor  did  not  deserve 
it;  for  he  was  even  at  that  time  anything  but  "an  innocent 
lamb." 

Presently  Luther  found  himself  casting  about  in  his  mind 
what  would  be  a  proper  form  for  addressing  the  Emperor. 
Should  he  say,  "Most  gracious  Sir"  ?  But  that  would  not 
be  true;  for  the  Emperor  had  not  acted  like  a  gracious  man 
to  him  on  this  journey  to  Worms.  Luther's  musings  were 
cut  short  by  Pappenheim,  who  opened  the  proceedings  by 
reminding  Luther  that  he  must  not  speak  a  word  except  in 
answer  to  a  question.  An  auspicious  beginning,  forsooth  ! 
This  was  the  gag  which  Aleander  and  Glapion  had  prepared 
for  Luther;  Pappenheim  put  it  into  Luther's  mouth,  and 
Eck  was  to  take  it  out  for  a  second  to  allow  Luther  to  say 
yes  or  no. 

The  Fiscal  of  Treves,  Eck,  now  arose  to  examine  Luther. 
Aleander  had  taken  the  place  next  to  him,  to  stabilize  him 
in  his  arduous  task,  and  fiU  him  with  moral  courage  for  his 
virtuous  action.  x\leander  reported  the  scene  which  now 
followed  thus: — 

He  spoke  to  Luther  as  follows :  "Martin  Luther,  the  Em- 
peror and  the  Realm  have  summoned  you  hither  that  you  may 
say  and  tcli  them  whether  you  have  composed  these  books," — • 
for  at  the  Emperor's  order  I  had  sent  in  twenty-five  or  more 
Lutheran  books, — ''and  others  which  bear  your  name ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  you  may  let  us  know  whether  you  purpose  to  de- 
fend and  stand  by  these  books. "•*26) 


435)  Erl.   Ed.  24,  322. 

436)  BAL,   p.   146;   KDA,   p.    130,  1,   526. 


LUTIIER's    first    Al'l'EARAXCE    BEFORE   THE    DIET.  201 

Tlie  question  had  been  put  in  Latin  and  was  repeated  in 
German.     Luther  relates: — 

I  was  about  to  say  yes,  when  Doctor  Jerome  Scburf  called 
with  a  loud  voice :  "Let  the  titles  of  the  books  be  read !"  The 
titles  were  read,  and,  lo !  the  books  were  all  mine.'*''^") 

Aleander  claimed  to  have  sent  to  the  Diet  more  than 
twenty-five  books  of  Luther.  Only  nineteen  titles  were 
read;  among  them  were  the  Appeal  to  the  Christian  No- 
bility. The  Babylonian  Captivity,  Basis  and  Proof  of  All 
the  Books  Condemned  by  the  Pope,  Against  the  Pull  of 
Antiehrist,  Of  the  Liberty  of  a  Christian  Man,  and  *'s(jme 
other  Christian  books  which  were  not  polcmical.""**'^^)  Ale- 
ander himself  was  the  party  that  read  the  titles  to  the  Diet, 
and  his  reading  was  in  part  a  burlesque  performance,  and 
exhibited  his  ignorance  of  Luther's  writings.  For  instance, 
the  title  of  Luther's  treatise  against  Emser  he  read  with  an 
Italian  pronunciation,  thus:  "Ahn  den  botsh"  (An  den 
Boch=Book)  :  Luther's  Sermon  on  Usury  he  introduced 
thus  :  "A  sermon  on  which  there  is  a  picture  of  a  man  with 
a  rod."^-"^'^') 

Aleander  was  closely  watching  the  Emperor  during  these 
proceedings  and  picked  up  another  ingenious  remark  of  the 
youthful  sovereign,  z'iz.,  that  he  would  never  believe  that 
the  monl;  had  written  all  those  books.  Aleander  prized  this 
remark  of  Charles  the  more  highly  because  it  coincided  with 
a  notion  that  had  become  fixed  in  his  own  mind;''*^)  in  fact, 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conjecture  that  the  notion  had  been 
grafted  on  Charles's  mind  by  Aleander. 

Luther  now  began  his  answer.  Clearly  an<l  j)rcciscly  he 
repeated  Eck's  two  questions.  To  the  first  he  replied  that 
all  these  books  were  by  him.  and  he  would  always  acknowl- 
edge them  as  his  own.  In  reporting  this  answer,  Aleander 
adds   indignantly  : — 


437)  XV,  1878. 

438)  The  conipklt-  list   is  given  in   Mouumcnta  Reformat.  Lutheran,   (p. 
183)   by   Peter   Kalan,   the  custodian   of   the   Secret   .Archives   of  the   Vatican. 

4o9)'  RA,    548. 

440)    r.AL,  p.  ir,3;   KDA,  p.   152;   SC,  1,  544   f. 


202  LUTHER'S    FIRST   APPEARANCE   BEFORE  THE  DIET. 

This  was  a  lie ;  for  every  one  knows  that  some  of  the  books 
have  other  authors,  although  they  go  under  Martin's  name.^^i) 
The  second  question  Luther  analyzed,  saying  that  it  de- 
manded of  him  either  to  maintain  all  these  writings  equally 
or  to  recant  everything  that  was  considered  heretical.  Care- 
fully weighing  his  words,  he  said: — 

Since  this  question  concerns  the  Creed,  the  sdvation  of 
souls,  and  the  Word  of  God,  zuhich  is  the  suhlimest  matter 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  duly  to  he  revered  by  all,  it  would 
he  presumptuous  and  dangerous  for  me  to  make  an  ill-con- 
sidered statement;  for  I  might  rashly  and  thoughtlessly  de- 
clare and  assert  as  certain  cither  less  than  the  matter  hefore 
mc   requires    or   more   than    comports   with   the   truth.     In 
either  case  I  should  come  under  the  verdict  zvhich  Christ 
laid  down  when  He  said:  ''Whosoever  shall  deny  Me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny   hefore  My  Father  zvhich  is  in 
heaven:'^"^-^     Accordingly,  I  pray   Your  Imperial  Majesty, 
zvith  the  utmost  devotion  and  humility,  to  give  me  time  to 
consider,  in  order  that,  zmthout  detriment  to  the  Word  of 
God  and  zvithout  jeopardising  the  salvation  of  my  soul,  I 
may  return  a  right  answer  to  the  question  proposed  to  me. 
This  is  the  answer  of  which  Hausrath  believes  that  it 
was  carefully  prepared  and  studied  beforehand.     His  whole 
argument   rests   on   the   logical    cogency   and  the  immediate 
effect  of  this  answer  on  Luther's  adversaries.     As  if  Luther 
could  not  think  and  speak  with  logical  precision  except  after 
careful  ])reparation  !     The  answer  created  indeed  the  utmost 
confusion  in  the  ranks  of  the  Papists;  for  according  to  their 
maneuver  Luther  was  to  be  inveigled  into  saying  cither  yes 
or  no.     In  either  event  his  case  would  have  been  settled  in 
a  trice,  and  he  would  have  l)ecn  sent  back  on  his  way  to 
Wittenberg  that  evening.     For  this   answer  they  were  not 
prepared ;  it  fell  among  them  like  a  bomb,  and  a  panic  seized 
them.    The  meeting  of  the  Diet  was  momentarily  broken  up ; 
while  Luther's  answer  was  being  translated  to  the  Emperor, 


441)  r.AL,  p.   146;  KDA,  p.   137;   SC,  1,   526. 

442)  Matt.  10,  33. 


Luther's  first  appear  a  nce  before  the  diet.  203 

eaj^er  conversations  were  begun  throughout  tlic  hall.  The 
Electors  retired  for  a  private  consultation,  the  princes  and 
the  representatives  of  cities  withdrew  likewise. 

The  papistic  party  was  in  an  awful  predicament:  they 
might  talk  about  undue  delay,  procrastination,  subterfuge, 
etc.,  as  much  as  they  pleased,  they  might  gnash  their  teeth 
in  impotent  rage,  still  they  could  not  overcome  the  general 
conviction  that  fairness  demanded  that  Luther's  request  be 
granted.  Aleander  thought  that  he  saw  in  Luther's  answer 
a  deep  scheme  of  the  Elector,  and  hinted  that  the  object  was 
to  open  a  debate  on  Luther's  teaching  in  the  next  session  of 
the  Diet.  Eck  spoke  of  juristic  tricks.  It  was  all  of  no 
avail :  the  agreement  was  reached  that  Luther  should  be 
given  twenty-four  hours  to  consider  his  answer. 

Eck  had  to  make  the  announcement  to  Luther.  He  did  it 
in  a  most  ungracious  and  insulting  manner,  but  to  the  de- 
light of  Aleander.  With  no  attempt  to  conceal  his  irrita- 
tion or  to  repress  his  anger,  he  began  to  chide  Luther  for 
not  being  ready  to  give  a  decent  answer,  when  he  had  known 
all  this  time  for  what  purpose  he  had  been  summoned  to 
the  Diet.  This  was  unjust;  for  Luther  had  never  been  told 
that  he  was  cited  only  to  recant.  Eck  continued:  Although 
this  fresh  delay  would  increase  the  danger  to  which  the  faith 
of  believers  had  been  exposed,  and  would  scandalize  the 
Church  still  more,  still  His  Majesty,  out  of  pure  imperial 
goochiess,  had  granted  Luther's  request,  and  he  would  be 
given  another  hearing  to-morrow.  He  must  give  his  answer 
orally,  not  in  writing.  The  object  was  to  limit  the  publicity 
that  might  be  given  to  I,uther's  answer,  and  to  shorten  the 
proceedings  at  the  next  meeting.  By  order  of  the  Emperor 
— so  Aleander  reports — Eck  concluded  his  announcement 
with  an  unctuous  admonition  to  Luther  to  employ  the  time 
granted  him  for  serious  reflection  on  the  enormity  of  his 
offense  against  the  Holy  vSee  and  the  appalling  heresies 
which  he  had  disseminated.  Luther  was  also  reminded  that 
if  the  offense  which  he  had  given  were  not  removed,  a 
conflagration  might  be  started  which  neither  his  recantation 


204  ON   THE  EVE  OF  THE  GREAT   DAY. 

nor  the  authority  of  the  Emperor  would  be  able  to  put 
out.443)  After  this  pious  harangue  Caspar  Sturm  took 
charge  of  Luther  and  conducted  him  to  his  lodging. 


26.  On  the  Eve  of  the  Great  Day. 

The  cheerful  mien  with  w^hich  Luther  had  entered  the 
Diet  had  vanished  while  Eck  addressed  him.  Aleander, 
who  noticed  everything,  reported  to  Rome  that  Luther  had 
not  been  ''cosi  allegro"  so  spirited,  when  he  left  the  hall. 
Others  had  the  same  impression.  No  wonder,  Luther  was 
chafing  under  the  undeserved  rebuke  and  unwarranted  ad- 
monition of  his  prosecutor,  to  which  he  was  not  permitted 
to  reply.  He  would  have  been  silly  if  he  had  smiled  at  the 
irreverent  language  in  which  Eck  shamelessly  abused  him, 
and  prejudged  his  case. 

A  feeling  of  disappointment  at  Luther's  conduct  was 
general  among  the  knights  in  the  assembly,  who  had  ex- 
pected a  great  feat  of  heroism  from  Luther,  some  daring 
charge  on  the  Papists  that  would  have  enraged  them,  cre- 
ated a  tumultuous  scene  in  the  Diet,  and  furnished  them  a 
welcome  opportunity  for  releasing  the  anger  which  they  had 
stored  up  in  their  hearts  against  the  Roman  brood  that  had 
stripped  many  of  them  of  their  possessions.  Philip  Fuersten- 
berg,  the  representative  of  the  city  of  Frankfort,  reported 
that  Luther  had  spoken  in  a  rather  low  voice  and  listlessly, 
and  that  he  had  not  been  well  understood,  even  not  by  those 
near  him  ;  he  had  seemed  abashed  and  terrified.  The  dele- 
gate from  Strassburg  sent  home  a  similar  report.  There  is 
a  psvchological  explanation  for  these  impressions.  People 
reading  a  book  filled  with  powerful  arguments  and  written 
in  an  aggressive  style  are  apt  to  picture  to  themselves  the 
autlior  of  such  a  book  as  a  person  of  gigantic  proportions, 
in  whom  everv  element  of  strength  has  been  developed  in 


443)   RAL,   p.  147;  KDA,  p.  138;   SC,   1,  527. 


ON   THE  EVE  OF  THE  GREAT    DAY.  205 

an  extraordinary  degree.  Such  people  are  disappointed  when 
they  meet  tiie  author  and  find  that  he  does  not  correspond  to 
the  ideal  portrait  which  their  imagination  had  made  of  him. 
Luther's  voice  was  clear  and  of  fair  volume,  but  it  never 
was  strong  and  sonorous.  Moreover,  Luther  had  no  reason 
to  raise  his  voice  when  answering  the  questions  addressed 
to  iiini.  He  was  not  addressing  the  assembly,  but  si)eaking 
to  the  Emperor  who  had  summoned  him.  Ilere  is  another 
psychological  explanation:  many  of  those  present  had  come 
expecting  to  see  a  great  dramatic  spectacle.  Luther  had 
not  come  in  such  a  spirit,  and  he  did  not  "play  to  the  gal- 
leries." He  simply  tended  to  the  business  before  him,  and 
that,  moreover,  was  of  such  a  nature,  especially  when  he 
framed  his  second  answer,  as  to  subdue  temper  and  to  make 
his  speech  halting,  because  of  his  effort  to  be  careful  of  what 
he  was  saying.  Besides,  there  was  never  perfect  quiet  in 
the  surging  crowd  in  the  hall  that  night,  and  Fuerstenberg 
had  a  place  in  the  rear  of  the  hall,  as  he  states  himself.  It 
is  really  remarkable  that  he  heard  as  much  as  he  reported. 
But  he  had  not  actually  heard  all  that  he  reported.  He  says 
that  Luther  in  his  first  answer  had  spoken  deprecatingly 
about  his  books,  saying  "he  could  not  deny  that  they  were 
his,"  and  in  the  second  answer  he  had  appealed  to  the  Em- 
peror's pity:  "for  God's  sake  to  give  him  a  little  time  to 
consider."  Now,  these  are  not  facts;  none  of  those  sitting 
near  I^uther,  the  secretaries  of  the  Diet,  Peutinger,  and  Ale- 
ander  himself,  have  rci)orted  them.  And  most  unfavorable 
to  Fuerstenberg's  credibility  is  the  fact  that  he  makes  a 
similar  report  of  the  proceedings  on  the  next  day,  when 
everybody   was  delighted  with   Luther's  manly  bearing. 

When  Luther  came  out  of  the  Bischofshof,  the  people 
started  to  cheer  him;  they  were  satisfied  that  he  had  gone 
into  the  lion's  den  and  had  come  out  alive.  Tn  many  ways 
the  crowd  showered  its  adnu'ration  on  Luther;  one  voice 
was  even  heard  to  sav  to  him:  "Blessed  is  the  womb  that 
bare  thee.""''***     P>ut  the  authnritv  for  this  is  Cochlaeus. 


444)    Luke   11,   27. 


206  ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  GREAT   DAY.  . 

At  his  lodging  Luther  was  again  visited  by  many  people 
of  rank.     He  relates: — 

Many  noblemen  came  to  my  lodging  and  said :  "Doctor,  how 
are  you  ?  We  hear  they  want  to  burn  you ;  but  that  shall  never 
be,  or  everything  will  have  to  go  to  wreck  at  the  same  time." 
And  that  would  have  happened.^^'"') 

Among  liis  callers  Luther  found  Bucer,  who  had  come 
with  letters  for  Luther  and  Jonas  from  Hutten.  With  gran- 
diloquent pathos  the  erratic  knight  wrote  to  Luther: — 

The  Lord  hear  thee  in  the  day  of  tribulation ;  the  name  of 
the  God  of  Jacob  protect  thee !  May  He  send  thee  help  from 
His  holy  place  and  guard  thee  from  Zion;  may  He  give  unto 
thee  according  to  thy  heart,  and  strengthen  all  thy  counsel ; 
may  He  fulfil  all  thy  petitions,  and  hear  thee  from  His  holy 
heaven  in  the  might  of  His  right  hand.^^^)  What  else  ought 
I  to  pray  for  you,  my  dearest  Luther,  my  venerable  father?  Be 
strong  and  courageous.^'*'^)  You  see  what  is  staked  on  you, 
what  a  crisis  this  is.  You  must  never  doubt  me  as  long  as  you 
are  constant ;  I  will  cling  to  you  to  my  last  breath.  Many  dogs 
surround  you,  and  the  council  of  the  malignant  besieges  you : 
they  have  opened  their  mouths  against  you  like  raging  and 
roaring  lions  ;^^^)  they  exult  and  rejoice  over  you,  seeking 
you.^49)  But  the  Lord  is  careful  for  you,^^^)  and  will  repay  the 
proud.  He  will  arise  with  you  against  the  malignant,  and  stand 
with  you  against  those  who  work  iniquity,  and  will  destroy  them 
in  their  evil.'*-'^^)  Thus  it  will  be,  Luther;  for  God,  the  just 
and  strong  Judge,  can  no  longer  connive  at  such  wickedness.'*^^) 
Fight  strenuously  for  Christ;  yield  not  to  evil,  but  go  the  more 
boldly  against  it.'*"'*?')  Bear  affliction  as  a  good  soldier  of 
Christ,**^^)  and  use  zealously  the  gift  of  God*^^)  which  is  in 
you,  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  guard  that  which  you  have 
committed  unto  Him  against  that  day.  Meanwhile,  1,  too,  will 
strive  for  the  same  thing;  but  my  plans  differ  from  one  another, 
for  they  are  human ;  you  are  more  perfect  and  act  only  from 
holy   motives.     Would   that   I    could   see   with    what   eyes   they 


445)  XV,   1878. 

446)  Ps.  20,  2-7. 

447)  Tosh.   1,  7. 

448)  Ps.   22,   17.   14. 

449)  Ps.   40,   17. 

450)  Ps.    40,    18. 

451)  Ps.   94,  2.   16.   23. 

452)  Ps.   7,   12. 

453)  Rom.   12.  21;  cp.   Vergil,  Aeneid,  VT,  95 

454)  2  Tim.  2,   3. 

455)  2  Tim.   1,   12. 


ON   THE  EVE  OF  THE  GREAT   UAV.  207 

look  at  you;456)  ^j^^t  faces  they  turn  to  you;  how  they  knit 
their  brows.  I  imagine  all  that  is  most  dreadful,  nor  do  I  think 
that  I  am  wrong,  for  I  expect  the  Lord  will  purge  the  vine- 
yard of  Sabaoth,-*^'!')  which  the  boar  of  the  wood  doth  ravage 
and  the  wild  beast  feedeth  ou--^-''^)  This  I  write  Ijriefly  in  great 
anxiety  for  you.     May  Christ  save  you  I'^SO) 

The  redeeming  feature  in  this  letter  is  that  Hutten  dis- 
tinctly puts  Luther's  effort  against  Rome  in  a  class  different 
from  his  own.  As  to  the  fervent  encouragement  which  he 
addressed  to  Luther,  there  was  no  need  of  that.  Tt  is  amus- 
ing to  think  how  the  knight  in  vSickingen's  stronghold  sits 
and  pictures  to  himself  the  awful  danger  of  r^uther  in  which 
he  is  so  deeply  interested,  but  which  he  would  rather  view 
from  a  safe  distance.  The  knight's  assurances  of  undying 
devotion  must  have  been  received  with  mixed  feelings  by 
Luther,  after  the  attempt  that  Hutten,  Sickingen,  and  Rucer 
had  made  to  turn  him  out  of  the  path  of  duty  at  Offenbach. 

Tn  the  letter  to  Jonas  the  knight  lauds  "the  piety,  worthy" 
of  all  love,"  that  had  prompted  Jonas  to  throw  in  his  lot 
with  Luther.  "Truly.  Justus,  T  loved  you  before,  but  on 
this  account  I  now  love  you  a  hundred  times  more."  Then 
he  grows  indignant  at  the  maneuvers  of  the  men  who  find 
that  they  cannot  attack  Luther  because  of  the  imperial  safe- 
conduct,  and  now  want  to  compensate  themselves  by  wreak- 
ing their  vengeance  on  the  unprotected  Jonas.  "Would  that 
I  might  be  present."  lie  exclaims,  "and  start  some  conmio- 
tion  or  some  tumult."  He  was  always  about  to  begin  start- 
ing something,  and  never  arrived  at  the  moment  of  action. 
"But  it  is  better  to  be  (juiet."  he  adds;  and  he  stayed  where 
it  was  not  onlv  (|uiet.  but  also  safe  for  him  to  compose 
classic  letters  on  the  fortitude  of  others — on  the  imi)regnablc 
Ebernburg.^^'^^ 


456)  That   is,   tlic   nun   in   the    Diet   before   whom   Lutlicr  made   his   first 
appearance  on   this  day. 

457)  John  15,   2;   Is.  5,   7. 

458)  Ps.  80,  13. 

459)  EB,  3,  123  ff. ;  SC.  1,  523  f. 

460)  SC,  1,  525. 


208  ON   THE  EVE  OF  THE  GREAT  DAY. 

Another  letter  was  delivered  to  Luther  as  he  came  out 
of  the  Diet.  It  came  from  Cuspinian,"*^!)  the  imperial  coun- 
selor at  Vienna,  was  brought  by  the  writer's  brother,  who 
had  come  to  the  Diet  as  canon  with  the  Bishop  of  Wuerz- 
hurg,  and  contained  such  pleasing  assurances  of  good  will 
from  an  influential  person  that  Luther  wrote  a  reply  the 
same  evening. 

Your  brother,  most  famous  Cuspinian,  has  easily  persuaded 
me  to  write  to  you  from  the  midst  of  this  tumult,  since  I  have 
long  wished  to  become  personally  acquainted  with  you  on  ac- 
count of  your  celebrity.  Take  me,  therefore,  into  the  register 
of  your  friends,  that  I  may  prove  the  truth  of  what  your  brother 
has  so  generously  told  me  of  you. 

This  hour  I  have  stood  before  the  Emperor  and  Diet,  and 
was  asked  whether  T  would  revoke  my  books.  To  which  I 
answered  that  the  books  were  indeed  mine,  but  that  I  would 
give  them  my  reply  about  recanting  to-morrow,  having  asked 
and  obtained  no  longer  time  for  consideration.  Truly,  with 
Christ's  aid,  I  shall  never  recant  one  jot  or  tittle.^^^) 

Amid  the  commotion  in  his  lodging  Luther  prepared  his 
reply  for  the  next  day.  There  still  exists  a  fragment  of  a 
manuscript  on  which  Luther  sketched  the  proceedings  of 
the  meeting  which  he  had  just  left,  and  jotted  down  ob- 
servations which  he  intended  to  elaborate  carefully  next 
morning."'^'"')  Peutinger,  who  called  on  him  in  the  morning, 
found  him  cheerful  in  reliance  upon  God.  Luther  greeted 
him:  "Doctor,  how  is  your  wife  and  the  children?"  He 
had  not  forgotten  the  cozy  home  at  Augsburg  where  he  had 
been  a  guest  and  found  cheer  in  days  of  great  stress.  George 
Vogler  also  came  in.  He  summed  up  his  interview  with 
Luther  in  a  letter  in  which  he  savs : — 


461)  John  Cuspinian  (originally,  Spicssliaymer),  burn  1473  at  Spicss- 
heim,  near  Scli\v-t.-infurt.  died  April  19.  1529,  at  X'ienna:  Humanist,  and 
editor  of  a  number  of  classics;  physician,  distinguished  especially  as  a 
fiil)lomat,  and  frequently  em])loyed  for  embassies.      EB,  3,  123. 

4fi2)  XXTa,  348  f.;  EB,  3.  122  f . ;  SL,  p.  114.  This  letter  is  given 
entirely  in  the  translation  of  Dr.  Smith,  who  has  rendered  it  from  the 
text  given  by  Ilaase  and  has  consulted  Kawcrau  on  the  faulty  text  printed 
in    all    the    old    editions. 

463)    FNU,   I,  p.    69   f. 


ON    THE   EVE  OF   THE  GREAT   DAY.  209 

I  could  write  you  many  things  about  the  fine,  godly  con- 
versations which  1  and  others  have  had  with  him,  and  what  a 
lovable  person  he  is."**^'^) 

In   his  report   to   Medici,   Aleandcr   says : — 

Many  even  of  Luther's  supporters,  after  they  had  seen  him, 
said  that  he  was  foolish;  others,  that  he  was  possessed.  I'.ul 
many  others  thought  him  a  pious  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
In  any  case  he  has  lost  considerable  reputation  in  the  regard 
of  all. 

On  these  two  days  the  Emperor  has  shown  the  constancy 
of  his  character  and  of  his  religious  convictions  against  the 
efforts  of  many  to  confuse  the  issue.  May  God  keep  him  thus! 
After  Martin  was  dismissed  to-day,  he  spoke  very  earnestly  to 
the  Elector  of  Saxony.  The  Official  of  Treves  communicated 
to  me  a  saying  of  his  master  about  the  Elector,  who  seems  to 
have  somewhat  changed  his  position ;  for  he  said :  "This  reck- 
less monk  has  ruined  everything,  and  to  my  annoyance  and 
disgust  has  gone  too  far  in  his  ranting  opinions."  Nevertheless, 
this  prince  docs  all  the  evil  he  can,  and  his  people  do  still  more. 

The  first  appearance  of  Luther  has  not  turned  out  so  ill ; 
if  only  he  is  not  instigated  by  his  followers  to  give  an  answer 
to-morrow  necessitating  further  delay.  We  will  do  our  best 
to  meet  him.  This  evening  the  Emperor  commissioned  the 
confessor  and  the  official  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  me 
as  to  what  is  now  to  be  done.  Delighted  at  their  wish  to  co- 
operate with  us,  T  intend  first  to  ascertain  their  opinions,  and 
then  to  decide  what  will  l)e  the  best  thing  to  do. 

I  pray  that  these  imperialists,  who  hitherto,  from  wicked- 
ness, cowardice,  frivolity,  or  worldly  considerations,  have  in 
all  matters  acted  against  God  and  the  laws,  against  their  own 
honor  and  the  good  of  Christendom,  now  at  last  may  remember 
God  and  His  vicar  and  their  sw-orn  duty,  and  do  it.  God  grant 
that  the  appearance  of  this  antichrist,  which  we  have  always 
deprecated  as  unreasonable,  may  contribute  to  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  Christendom.^^*"^) 

At  the  consultation  with  Olapion  and  b'ck  the  situalii»n 
created  by  Luther's  request  for  an  extension  of  time,  and 
the  answer  which  he  would  likely  render  at  his  final  hear- 
ing, was  carefully  gone  over.  As  a  result,  the  two  nuncii 
resolved  not  to  attend  the  next  session  of  the  Diet.  Why  ? 
Thev   calculated   that   Luther   had   gained   this  point   against 


400    TT.\r..   PI).   260.   SS.I. 

465)   BAI.,    p.    147   f . ;    KDA,   j).    138   f.;    SC,   1,   .-527    f. 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL   OF    CAESAR.  14 


210  "god  help  me  !    amen." 

them  that  the  Diet  would  hear  him  in  his  own  defense.  That 
meant  that  he  would  most  likely  say  things  to  which  a  devout 
son  of  the  Holy  Father  could  not  decently  listen.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  great  day  of  the  Diet  they  went  into  becoming 
religious  retireraent,'*^^)  not  wishing  to  hear  the  shame  of 
Rome  proclaimed  to  their  faces. 


27.  "God  Help  Me!    Amen." 

On  Thursday  .April  18,  the  street  to  the  Bischofshof  was 
one  solid  mass  of  humanity,  as  Luther,  at  four  o'clock,  was 
conducted  to  the  Diet.  More  than  five  thousand  persons, 
say  the  old  chronicles,  were  besieging  the  palace,  Late  comers 
turned  away  in  dismay ;  for  it  was  impossible  to  force  a  way 
through  this  crowd.  In  the  hall  upstairs  the  congestion  was 
so  great  that  even  the  Emperor  and  the  Electors  were 
crowded.  The  room  was  suffocatingly  hot.  Luther  had  to 
wait  below  an  hour  and  a  half;  it  was  dusk  when  he  entered 
the  hall,  and  the  torches  were  lighted.  The  Electors  were 
still  standing  when  he  passed  through  the  door,  and  Luther 
had  to  wait  till  they  were  all  seated.  Every  witness  that  has 
reported  Luther's  entrance  into  the  hall  on  this  day  has  re- 
corded the  cheerful,  animated  state  of  mind  that  Luther 
manifested.  At  last  he  stood  before  the  Emperor.  Two 
chairs  before  him  were  vacant,  Caraccioli's  and  Aleander's. 
(But  Aleander's  spies  were  out,  and  the  nuncio's  dispatches 
of  April  18  and  19  show  that  he  was  minutely  informed.) 

I. 

Eck  plunged  at  once  into  the  business  of  the  hour.  Im- 
patiently he  began  (prorupif  in  verba)  : — 

Yesterday  you  asked  for  an  extension  of  time  to  consider 
your  answer.  That  time  has  expired.  You  had  no  right  to 
ask  for  such  a  privilege ;  for  you  knew  long  ago  for  what  pur- 
pose  you   were   summoned.     Moreover,    in   matters   relating   to 


46G     PTausrath:      "uiid  so  blicben  sie  in  Zucclitcn  in  ihrer  Wohnung." 
HAL,  p.  260. 


"god  help  me!    amen."  211 

faith  every  one,  especially  sucli  a  great  and  learned  professor 
of  theology,  ought  to  be  certain,  so  as  to  be  ready  at  any 
moment,  when  asked,  to  give  a  definite  and  firm  account.  Upon 
the  demand  of  the  Emperor,  then,  make  answer  at  last :  Will 
you  defend  all  the  books  which  you  have  acknowledged  as  your 
own,  or  will  you  retract  anything  ?•*<*") 

This  haughty  speech,  which  breathed  all  the  malevolence 
of  Aleander,  was  delivered  first  in  Latin  and  then,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  knights,  who  understood  no  Latin,  in  German; 
however,  in  the  German  version  the  insolent  portions  were 
considerably  toned  down. 

There  is  a  noteworthy  change  in  the  form  of  Eck's  ques- 
tion from  the  day  before.  At  the  first  hearing  Eck  had 
asked  whether  Luther  would  recant  all  his  books.  In  the 
mean  time  it  must  have  been  pointed  out  to  him  what  a 
stupid  question  that  w^as.  Persons  who  had  knowledge  of 
the  contents  of  the  books  whose  titles  had  been  read  in  the 
Diet  must  have  wondered  how  Luther  could  possibly  answer 
that  question  with  a  simple  yes  or  no.  Those  books  con- 
tained the  progressive  development  of  Luther's  theology 
during  four  years.  He  had  first  admitted,  afterwards  de- 
nied, that  there  is  such  a  place  as  purgatory;  he  had  first 
called  the  papacy  a  good  human  ordinance,  afterwards  he 
had  denounced  it  as  a  diabolical  institution;  he  had  first  sub- 
mitted to  the  mediatorship  of  priests,  afterwards  he  had 
rejected  it.  Now,  if  he  recanted,  what  did  he  recant?  That 
there  was  a  purgatory,  or  that  there  was  none?  That  the 
papacy  was  of  men,  or  that  it  was  of  the  devil?  etc. 

Tn  the  heat  of  controversy  Luther  had  hurled  angry 
w'ords  at  his  adversaries,  had  indulged  in  the  rhetoric  of 
excitement  and  passion,  and  had  answered  fools  according 
to  their  folly.  Wlien  his  wTath  had  cooled,  he  recalled  such 
utterances.  In  his  greater  treatise  against  Emser  he  had 
explained  what  the  true  w^capons  and  the  proper  method  of 
his  warfare  must  be  on  the  basis  of  the  Christian  panoply 
which   Paul   has  described  in   Eph.  6.   13  ff.-*««)     With  their 


4G7)   KL.  I,  414. 
468)   XVIII,   1272    fT. 


212  "god  help  me!    amen." 

charge  of  angry  polemics  his  accusers  could  not  come  into 
court  with  clean  hands :  they  had  outdone  each  other  in 
vilest  abuses  of  Luther.  It  was,  therefore,  an  unreasonable 
demand  on  the  part  of  the  adversaries  that  Luther  retract 
indiscriminately  every  heated  expression  that  had  escaped 
him.  If  he  had  yielded  to  that  demand,  he  would  only  have 
become  discredited  to  his  followers,  who  would  not  discrim- 
inate between  what  had  actually  been  retracted  and  what 
not;  and  his  opponents  would  zealously  have  misconstrued 
the  smallest  admission  he  made  to  them.  At  any  rate,  Eck's 
question,  since  it  involved  these  matters  also,  required  a  cau- 
tious and  discriminating  answer,  to  be  fair. 

Again,  Luther  had  written  many  treatises  of  an  exposi- 
tory nature  for  the  edification  of  Christians;  in  fact,  this 
class  of  his  writings  was  greater  than  the  others.  In  these 
writings  the  holiest  movements  of  his  soul  had  been  depos- 
ited, and  they  were  the  reflex  of  the  Divine  Word.  To 
recant  them  meant  to  deny  Christ.  Only  the  brutal  and  per- 
fidious mind  of  Alcander  could  make  such  a  demand. 

Lastly,  Luther  had  published  treatises  against  the  tyr- 
anny and  oppression  of  Rome,  which  had  helped  the  Diet 
in  those  very  days  to  draw  up  its  crushing  indictment  of 
papal  misrule,  the  Grievances  of  the  German  Nation.  In- 
deed, these  writings,  before  all  the  rest,  Aleander  wished 
to  have  recanted;  but  t;hese  writings,  before  all  the  rest, 
many  members  of  the  Diet  were  ready  to  sustain.  This 
point  had  been  made  so  clear  to  Eck  overnight  that  he  re- 
vised his  question  to  Luther.  vSince  the  last  session  a  change 
had  occurred  which  necessitated  a  readjustment  of  tac- 
tics.-^^Q)  ^ 

IL 

Luther,  too,  had  become  wiser  overnight.  His  attention 
must  have  been  called  to  his  somewhat  indifferent  demeanor 
before  the  august  majesty  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Electors. 
He  had  made  up  his  mind  this  time  to  show  due  deference 
to  worldly  rank  and  dignity.     With  a  slight  bending  of  the 


409)    IIAL,   pp.   202-4. 


"god  help  me!    amen."  213 

knee,  such  as  etiquette  prescribed  for  inferiors  wiien  ad- 
dressing their  superiors,  he  stepped  before  the  imperial  dais. 
And  tliough  his  figure  must  have  straightened  in  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  he  did  not  abandon  the  attitude  of  self- 
respecting  modesty,  and  inchdged  in  no  ])rava(lo  of  mien  or 
gesture.  The  defiant  posture,  with  Iiis  head  thrust  backward 
and  eyes  directed  to  heaven,  tlie  cliest  thrown  out  and  one 
foot  i)ushe(l  forward,  etc.,  wliicli  painlers  and  sculptors  have 
favored,  is  art,  and  it  is  true  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
meaning  of  the  great  moment,  but  it  is  not  history.  How- 
ever, his  deferential  attitude  notwithstanding,  Luther  spoke 
with  every  mark  of  a  fearless  mind  and  raised  his  voice  so 
that  he  was  plainly  understood  even  in  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  hall. 

Luther  said : — 

Most  serene,  most  puissant  Bniperov!  Serene  Prinees! 
Most  graeious  and  graeious  Lords.' 

Obedient  to  the  terms  laid  doimi  for  me  yesterday,  I  ap- 
pear defore  you  and  ask,  for  the  mercy  of  God,  tJiat  Your 
Imperial  Majesty  and  Your  Worships  will  deign  graciously 
to  hear  this  matter,  which  I  hope  to  show  is  a  matter  of 
righteousness  and  truth. 

If  I  should  fail,  because  of  my  inexperience,  to  accord 
to  each  his  becoming  title,  or  should  in  any  wise  by  my 
manners  and  deportment  offend  against  court  etiquette,  I 
ask  you  graciously  to  pardon  these  defects  in  me.  I  hare 
not  sojourned  at  the  courts  of  princes,  but  in  the  cells  of 
monh's. 

Regarding  myself,  I  cannot  offer  you  any  other  testi))i<)ny 
than  this:  hi  what  I  have  taught  and  written  with  single- 
ness of  mind  I  ha7'e  otily  sought  the  honor  of  (rod  and  the 
sou)id  instruction  of  belicT'ing  Christians. 

Most  seroie  Emperor!  .^fost  gracious  and  gracious 
Electors,  Princes,  and  Lords! 

Of  the  two  questions  that  were  proposed  to  me  yesterday, 
I  gaie  mv  ready  and  plain  ans7cer  yesterday  to  the  first 
question       I   shll  stan<l   by   those  leords.  and  say  that   these 


214  "god  help  me!    amen/' 

books  have  been  written  by  me;  provided  that  nothing  has 
been  thanged  in  them  since  I  published  them,  or  is  incor- 
rectly quoted  from  them  through  the  deception  of  men  zvho 
wish  me  ill,  or  through  lack  of  understanding  on  the  part 
of  incapable  persons. 

As  I  am  to  answer  the  other  question,  I  humbly  ask 
Your  Imperial  Majesty  and  Your  Worships  to  note  care- 
fully that  my  books  are  not  all  of  one  kind. 

For  there  are  among  them  some  in  which  I  have  in  a 
simple  and  evangelical  manner  expounded  the  Creed  and 
moral  duties.  Even  my  adversaries  are  forced  to  admit  that 
these  books  are  useful,  not  injurious,  and  worthy  to  be  read 
by  Christians.  Moreover,  the  bull,  violent  though  it  is, 
declares  that  some  of  my  books  are  not  injurious,  although 
ivith  an  unreasonable  verdict  it  condemns  them  along  with 
the  rest.  Now,  if  I  undertook  to  recant  these  books,  zvhat 
else  ivould  I  do  than  condemn  the  truth  which  is  equally 
confessed  by  friend  and  foe? 

There  is  another  class  of  my  books  zvhich  is  directed 
against  the  Papacy  and  the  teachings  of  the  Papists  as 
against  men  zvho  by  their  doctrines  and  example  have  dev- 
astated the  Christian  Church  with  evils  of  the  body  and  of 
the  soul.  For  nobody  can  deny  nor  hide  what  is  established 
by  the  testimony  of  the  experience  and  complaints  of  all, 
viz.,  that  by  the  papal  lazvs  and  traditions  of  men  the  con- 
sciences of  Christians  have  been  miserably  enslaved  and 
tortured;  the  goods  and  possessions,  especially  of  the  Ger- 
man nation,  have  been  szvallowed  up  by  an  incredible 
tyranny;  despite  the  fact  that  in  their  own  laws  the  Papists 
declare  that  such  laws  and  doctrines  of  the  Pope  as  might 
be  contrary  to  the  Gospel  and  the  decrees  of  the  Fathers 
are  to  be  considered  erroneous.  (Here  Luther  cited  two 
passages  from  the  Canon  Law.)  Nozv,  by  recanting  these 
books  I  should  strengthen  tyranny,  and  open,  not  only  the 
zvindozvs,  but  also  the  doors  to  unchristian  practise — all 
the  more,  if  it  could  be  said  that  I  had  done  this  upon  the 
authority  of  His  Imperial  Majesty  and  of  the  entire  Roman 


"god  help  me!    amen."  215 

Empire.  Good  God,  zvJiat  a  shelter  I  ivoiild  become  for 
iniquity  and  tyranny! 

In  the  third  class  of  my  hooks  arc  such  as  1  have  written 
■against  individual  persons  who  undertook  to  defend  the 
Roman  tyranny  and  to  exterminate  the  godly  doctrines  which 
I  had  been  teacJiing.  I  confess  that  in  opposing  these  per- 
sons I  have  been  more  violent  than  was  becoming.  For  I 
do  not  make  myself  out  a  saint;  neither  am  I  arguing  in 
beJialf  of  my  conversation,  but  in  behalf  of  the  doctrine 
of  Christ.  But  even  these  books  I  cannot  recant  because 
I  iK'ould  thereby  give  shelter  to  tyranny  and  zvickcdness. 

Inasmuch,  hozvever,  as  I  am  a  man  and  not  God,  I  cannot 
defend  my  booklets  against  accusations  in  any  different  man- 
ner than  as  the  Lord  Christ  Himself  defended  His  teaching: 
wlicn  He  zvas  asked  before  Annas  concerning  His  doctrine, 
and  one  of  the  servants  smote  His  face,  He  said:  "If  I 
have  spoken  evil,  bear  zvitness  of  the  evil."^'^^^  If  the  Lord, 
zi'Jio  knezv  that  He  could  not  err,  did  not  refuse  to  accept 
testimony  against  His  teaching  from  the  vilest  servant,  hozv 
much  more  must  I,  the  most  abject,  erring  creature,  azvait 
and  desire  to  receive  anybody's  counter-testimony  to  my 
teaching ! 

Accordingly,  by  the  mercy  of  God  I  ask  Your  Imperial 
Majesty,  your  most  gracious  Worships,  or  zvhoevcr  else  is 
able,  high  or  lozv,  to  offer  me  counter-testimony,  to  convince 
me  of  error,  to  overcome  me  zvith  tlie  prophetic  and  ez'an- 
gelic  Scriptures.  I  shall  be  most  zvilling  and  ready,  zi'hoi 
conz'inced.  to  recant  ez'cry  error,  and  I  shall  be  the  first  to 
cast  my  ozvn  books  into  the  fire. 

h^rom  all  this  it  is  apparrut,  I  l.'iiuk.  thai  I  haz'c  suffi- 
cientlx  considered  the  danger,  discord,  and  riot,  zchicli  has 
arisen  because  of  my  teaching,  and  of  zi'hich  I  zvas  earnestly 
reminded  yesterday.  Yes.  J  like  nothing  better  than  that 
covitention  and  discord  arise  because  of  the  Word  of  God, 
as  the  Lord  says:  "I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  szvord. 
For  J  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father 


470)   John  18,  23. 


216  ''god  help  me!    amen." 

and  the  daughter  against  her  mother"^'^'^^  We  must,  there- 
fore, consider  how  zvonderful  and  terrible  our  God  is  in  His 
judgments,  lest  zvhat  zve  are  devising  now  for  the  purpose 
of  restoring  quiet  may  in  the  end  bring  upon  us  a  deluge 
of  intolerable  einls,  if  zve  begin  \^our  pacifying  measures^ 
by  coiidenming  the  Word  of  God.  We  must  be  mindful  and 
careful  not  to  cause  an  unfortunate  beginning  and  an  un- 
happy administration  for  this  youthful,  noble  Bnvperor 
Charles,  on  zvhom,  under  God,  zve  stake  great  hopes. 

I  could  cite  numerous  examples  for  what  I  have  said 
from  Holy  Scripture,  such  as  Pharaoh,  the  king  of  Babylon, 
the  kings  of  Israel,  zvho  prepared  their  ozvn  ruin  most  by 
the  very  deznces  of  superior  prudence  zvith  zvhich  they  in- 
tended to  giz'e  peace  to  their  realms  and  to  fortify  them. 
For  it  is  He  that  "taketh  the  zvise  in  their  ozvn  crafti- 
uess"^"^^^  before  they  are  azvare  of  it.  There  is  need,  then, 
of  the  fear  of  God. 

I  do  not  say  these  things  as  though  such  exalted  digni- 
taries zvere  in  need  of  my  teaching  and  admonition,  but  be- 
cause I  dare  not  decline  to  render  Germany  the  service  which 
I  ozve  to  my  fatherland. 

Hcrezvith  I  commend  myself  to  Your  Most  Serene 
Majesty  and  to  Your  Lordships,  praying  that  you  will  not 
suffer  me  to  be  calumniated  and  brought  into  disgrace  by  my 
adversaries. 

I  have  spoken. '^''•^^ 

Luther  was  showing'  signs  of  exhaustion  when  he  had  fin- 
ished this  Latin  oration,  and  now  started  to  repeat  it  in 
German,  His  room-mate,  Friedrich  von  Thun,  who  noticed 
his  fatigue,  called  to  him:  "If  you  cannot  do  it,  Doctor, 
this  will  be  sufficient."  But  bracing  himself  to  the  extra 
effort,  Luther  in  a  fine,  fluent  manner  repeated  in  German 
the  noble  argument  which  he  had  just  laid  before  the  learned 
part  of  the  Diet.     It  is  this  German  address  which  we  have 


471)  Matt.    10.    34    f. 

472)  1    Cor.    3,    19. 

473)  WE,   7,    816  ff.;    859   flF. 


"god  ttf.lp  me!     amen."  217 

reproduced.  Breathlessly  the  greatest  men  of  Europe  hung 
on  ills  lips,  and  when  he  had  concluded,  there  ran  llirough 
the  audience  ripple  after  ripple  of  murmured  approval. 
Peutinger  wrote  the  Doctor  had  proved  his  case,  "verily, 
with  much  beautiful  speaking."  Luther  relates:  "I  per- 
spired freely;  it  was  very  hot  because  of  the  congestion ; 
another  reason  was  because  I  stood  among  the  princes.""*'^"*) 
Aleander  reported  to  Rome  that  at  the  point  where 
Luther  recounted  the  misrule  of  the  Papacy,  the  Rmperor 
interrupted  him  with  the  remark,  "No  more  of  that  !"^'*-'"'  This 
is  pure  fiction,  intended  to  commend  the  Kmperor  to  the 
Pope.  The  Emperor  did  not  understand  either  Latin  or 
German  sufficiently  to  interrupt  the  speaker.  He  was  not 
aware  that  he  had  just  listened  to  the  greatest  speech  in  the 
world  of  his  day ;  for  that  speech  ushered  in  the  greatest 
era  in  the  world.  Its  sentiments  have  often  been  garbled 
and  prostituted  to  ignoble  ends.  Luther  has  become  a  great 
name  to  conjure  with.  This  speech,  with  the  extraordinary 
glamor  surrounding  it,  has  made  Luther  an  authority  to 
many  people  who  refuse  to  bow  to  the  authority  to  which 
Luther  bowed.  In  this  speech  genuine,  God-given  authority 
stood  face  to  face  with  a  bastard  authority,*  and  that  hour  at 
Worms  has  spelled  the  doom  for  every  sort  of  stolen  power. 

ITL 
I^uther  had  offered  a  fair  discussion  to  his  adversaries, 
and  he  was  by  all  divine  and  human  laws  of  equity  entitled 
to  it.  But  the  imperial  conscience  had  become  mortgaged 
to  Rome.  When  Charles  had  been  told  what  the  mad  monk 
wanted,  he  remembered  his  promise  to  the  Papists  that  there 
should. l)e  no  debate.  Accordingly.  Eck  was  ordered  to  repeat 
the  original  alternative  to  Luther:  whether  he  would  recant, 
or  no.  Again  he  addressed  Luther  in  a  spiteful  manner,  as 
if  to  scold  him.  Luther  had  not  spoken  to  the  point,  he 
said.  The  decrees  of  councils  must  not  be  made  subjects  of 
debate.     There  was  simply  one  thing  demanded  of  Luther : 


474)  XV.    1880, 

475)  B.\L,    p.    153;    KDA,   p.   143;    .SC,    1,   539   f. 


218  "god  help  me!    arten/' 

he  must  give  an  answer  without  horns  and  without  teeth. 
Anci  now  came  Luther's  memorable  answer.  Without  a 
moment  of  hesitation  he  said: — 

Since  Your  Imperial  Majesty  and  Your  Lordships  desire 
a  plain  ansiver,  I  shall  give  one  that  has  neither  horns  nor 
teeth,  to  wit :  Unless  I  am  overcome  zvith  testimonies  from 
Scripture  or  zvith  evident  reasons, — for  I  believe  neither  the 
Pope  nor  the  councils,  since  they  have  often  erred  and  con- 
tradicted each  other,— I  am  overcome  by  the  Scripture-texts 
zvhich  I  haz>e  adduced,  and  my  conscience  is  bound  by  God's 
Word.  I  cannot  and  zvill  not  recant  anything;  for  to  act 
contrary  to  one's  conscience  is  neither  safe  nor  sincere. 
God  help  me!    Amen. 

Luther  spoke  these  words  in  Latin,  only  the  concluding 
exclamation  was  in  German;  and  then  he  repeated  the  entire 
answer  in  German,  as  Eck  had  done  with  the  question. 

The  old  records  become  confused  at  this  point,  and  it  is 
likely  that  the  confusion  in  the  records  reflects  the  confusion 
in  the  hall  that  ensued  upon  Luther's  final  answer.  We  shall 
not  attempt  to  reconstruct  the  scene  as  it  actually  was,  but 
simply  register  elements  that  have  not  been  mentioned.  Some 
chronicles  relate  that  after  Luther's  speech  the  princes 
formed  a  group  to  discuss  Luther's  plea  for  a  sound  refuta- 
tion of  his  doctrinal  position,  and  that  this  plea  was  over- 
ruled by  the  Emperor,  who  was  supported  by  the  Papists. 

A  fuller  account  is  also  given  of  Eck's  second  address  to 
Luther:  he  is  described  as  reviling  Luther  and  saying  that 
there  was  no  need  of  entering  upon  an  argument  concerning 
his  teachings,  because  they  were  the  teachings  of  Wiclif, 
Huss,  and  other  heretics,  and  had  been  condemned  long  ago 
by  the  Council  of  Constance.  That  was  sufficient.  Luther 
must  admit  that  God  would  not  allow  His  Church  to  be  in 
error  such  a  long  time.  If  everybody  were  permitted  to 
contradict  the  decrees  of  councils  of  the  Church  and  demand 
proof  from  Scripture,  there  would  be  nothing  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  that  could  be  regarded  as  definitel}  settled. 
If  Luther  were  willing  to  recant  such  of  his  teachings  as 


"god  help  me!    amen."  219 

had  been  condemned  at  Constance,  the  Emperor,  from  his 
habitual  goodness  of  heart,  might  permit  a  discussion  of  his 
other  books.  Otherwise  even  those  of  his  writings  which 
were  of  a  Christian  character  did  not  deserve  any  regard. 
Then  came  Eck's  call  for  "an  answer  without  horns  and 
teeth." 

But  even  this  answer,  some  of  the  chronicles  state,  did 
not  conclude  the  proceedings.  The  Emperor  again  had 
failed  to  understand  Luther's  answer,  and  when  it  was  in- 
terpreted to  him,  he  did  not  grasp  the  interpretation.  He 
ordered  Eck  to  ask  Luther  whether  he  meant  to  say  that 
councils  could  err — the  very  point  which  Luther  had  plainly 
expressed.  Naturally,  Luther  could  only  repeat  his  previous 
statement,  that  there  were  manifest  errors  in  the  decrees  of 
councils.  The  Council  of  Constance,  in  particular,  had  ren- 
dered its  decision  contrary  to  clear  texts  of  Holy  Writ. 
Scripture,  therefore,  compelled  one  to  say  that  councils  had 
erred.  Logically  the  next  step  would  have  been  to  take  up 
the  doctrine  of  Huss  and  measure  it  against  Scripture;  but 
when  Luther's  last  statement  was  explained  to  the  Emperor, 
he  declared  that  was  enough;  he  would  hear  no  more  as 
Luther  rejected  councils. 

Raian  has  published  a  record  which  says  that  when  the 
Emperor  turned  away  from  Luther  in  disgust.  Eck  called  to 
Luther :  "Give  your  conscience  the  slip,  Martin,  as  you 
are  obliged  to  do  because  you  are  in  error.  Your  claim  that 
councils  have  erred  you  will  never  prove,  at  least  not  as 
regards  articles  of  faith.  Tt  may  be  that  they  erred  in  mat- 
ters of  discipline:  T  shall  readily  grant  you  that."  Luther 
said:  "I  can  prove  it."  P)Ut  the  court  was  already  leaving, 
and  Luther's  remark  passed  unheeded  in  the  ensuing  tu- 
mult.-*T6) 

IV. 

The  concluding  remarks  in  TvUther's  famous  speech  as 
given  above  differ  from  the  current  version.  The  matter 
has  no  dogmatical  bearing,  but  it   is  of  sufficient  historical 


476)   Mon.  Ref.  Luth.  68,  p.  1S3. 


220  "god  help  me!    amen." 

interest  to  justify  a  few  remarks.  Everybody  will  endorse 
Ilausrath's  sentiment  that  Luther's  true  distinction  is  not 
that  he  said :  "Here  I  stand  !"  but  that  he  actually  stood.'*^'*'^ 
Nevertheless,  Hausrath  seems  overskeptical  in  regard  to 
the  popular  version  of  the  conclusion  of  Luther's  speech : 
"Here  I  stand ;  I  cannot  do  otherwise ;  God  help  me ! 
Amen."  It  is  true  that  none  of  the  records  of  witnesses 
contain  these  words,  not  even  Luther's  own  account.  But 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  Luther's  memorandum  for  his 
speech  contains  mere  jottings;  that  towards  the  conclusion 
of  his  hearing  there  was  a  great  deal  of  disturbance,  quick 
questionings  and  quick  reply  between  the  two  speakers,  and 
that  none  of  the  bystanders,  not  even  Luther  himself,  who 
was  the  chief  actor  in  these  exciting  moments,  can  be  ex- 
pected to  reproduce  exactly  the  very  words  that  were  spoken, 
and  their  exact  sequence.  Even  a  stenographer  would  have 
failed  in  those  critical  moments.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
more  careful  research  of  Koestlin'*''^^)  eliminates  Hausrath's 
principal  objection  to  the  historicity  of  the  popular  version 
of  Luther's  concluding  remarks.  The  first  print  in  which 
this  version  is  given  is  not  the  Wittenberg  edition  of 
Luther's  Works  in  LS46,  but  a  print  of  1521  that  was  issued 
from  Wittenberg  by  John  Gruenenberg.  The  version  was 
current,  then,  very  soon  after  Luther's  appearance  before 
the  Diet.  In  fact,  it  is  likely  that  it  was  current  at  Worms 
immediately  after  Luther's  hearing.  Luther,  no  doubt,  knew 
of  this  version,  and  never  objected  to  it,  possibly  because 
he  saw  no  compelling  reason  why  he  should  do  so,  as  he 
was  conscious  of  having  said  words  to  that  effect  during 
the  hearing.  The  sentiment  expressed  in  these  words,  more- 
over, occurs  on  previous  occasions,  for  instance,  in  Luther's 
sermon  at  Erfurt  while  he  was  en  route  to  Worms.  The 
only  real  difficulty  about  the  words  in  question  seems  to  be 
to  establish  their  true  context.  That  may  indeed  remain  an 
impossible   task. 


477)  IIAL,  p.  271. 

478)  KL,   I.  419  t 


"l   AM   THROUGH  !"  221 

28.  "I  Am  Through!" 

With  a  courteous  obeisance  towards  the  departing  Em- 
peror, Luther  prepared  to  leave  the  hall.  He  relates  his 
departure   as   follows : — 

When  I  had  finished  speaking,  I  was  dismissed,  and  two 
gentlemen  were  detailed  to  conduct  me  out  of  the  hall  and  to 
accompany  me  home.  Then  a  great  tumult  arose :  The  noble- 
men shouted,  wanting  to  know  whether  they  were  taking  me 
to  prison.  But  I  said  to  them:  "No;  they  are  merely  accom- 
panying me."  And  so  I  came  back  to  my  lodging,  and  did  not 
enter  the  Diet  again.^'^'J^) 

The  tumult  \vas  caused  by  Spaniards,  most  likely  by 
Alba's  men.  who  could  no  longer  restrain  their  wrath.  The 
torches  in  the  hall  were  consumed,  or  nearly  so,  and  in  the 
gathering  darkness  the  Spaniards  set  up  hisses  and  jeers  at 
the  departing  Luther,  and  it  looked  as  if  they  were  threat- 
ening to  do  violence  to  him."*^^)  But  the  two  squires  who 
escorted  Luther  made  a  way  for  him  through  the  hostile 
crowd,  and  soon  Luther  found  himself  among  German 
knights,  who  expressed  their  delight  at  the  manful  stand  he 
had  made.  Even  from  the  Catholic  Duke  Eric  of  Brunswick 
Luther  had  won  admiration ;  for  as  Luther  was  departing, 
visibly  exhausted,  the  Duke  sent  him  a  mug  of  Einbeck  beer 
to  refresh  him,  and  when  Luther  was  assured  that  he  was 
not  being  treated  to  treacherous  Italian  hospitality,  he  ac- 
cepted the  gift  with  thanks. 

As  Luther  stepped  into  the  street,  he  stretched  himself 
as  laborers  do  after  a  hard  task.  This  gesture  Aleander 
reported  as  peculiarly  significant.  The  men  of  the  Elector's 
retinue  crowded  around  him  and  went  with  him  to  his  lodg- 
ing. Tt  was  eight  o'clock  when  Luther  stepped  into  his  rf)()m. 
Sixtus  Oelhafen,  a  counsel  from  Nuremberg,  was  awaiting 
his  return.  The  gentleman  had  tried  to  get  admission  to 
the  hall  of  the  Diet,  but  had  not  succeeded.  Spalatin  also 
was  waitins:  for  Luther.     An  hour  later  Oelhafen  wrote  a 


479)  XV,   1820. 

480)  XV,  1927. 


222  "l   AM   THROUGH  \" 

letter  home,  in  which  he  describes  Luther's  return  from  the 
Diet :-  - 

As  he  was  crossing  the  threshold  of  his  lodging,  he  threw 
up  his  hands  in  my  presence  and  that  of  others,  and  shouted 
with  a  beaming  face,  "I  am  through !     I  am  through !" 

Spalatin  reports  that  Luther  entered  his  lodging  in  such 

a  "brave,  confident,  cheerful  spirit  in  the  Lord  that  he  said 

in  my  presence  and  that  of  others: — 

"If  I  had  a  thousand  heads,  I  would  lose  them  all  rather 
than  recant."48i) 

The  Elector  came  out  of  the  Diet  stirred  to  the  depths 
of  his  heart.     Spalatin  relates : — 

His  Electoral  Grace  was  so  filled  with  wonder  at  the  fear- 
less Christian  manner  in  which  Luther,  in  Latin  and  German, 
had  made  his  answer  before  His  Imperial  Majesty  and  the 
Estates  of  the  Empire  that  before  he  sat  down  to  his  supper  he 
sent  for  me  at  Doctor  Martin's  lodging.  When  I  arrived,  the 
Elector  was  about  to  drink  a  glass  of  water ;  but  seeing  me, 
he  made  me  a  sign  to  follow  him  into  his  chamber,  and  when 
I  entered,  he  exclaimed  with  great  admiration :  "Well  did  the 
father,  Doctor  Martin,  speak  in  Latin  and  German  before  the 
Emperor  and  all  the  Princes  and  Estates  of  the  Empire.  He 
is  much  too  bold  for  me !"  Then  he  graciously  bade  me  go 
back  to  Doctor  Martin.482) 

The  Elector  wanted  Luther  to  know  how  pleased  he  had 
been  with  his  conduct.  Luther's  lodging  was  crowded  with 
counts  and  lords  who  came  to  express  their  esteem  for  the 
man  who  had  so  ably  upheld  not  only  his  own  cause,  but 
theirs  also. 

Luther's  exclamation  on  entering  his  lodging  expresses 
his  relief  of  the  tension  which  the  ordeal  at  the  Diet  had 
created  for  him.  He  realized  that  he  had  passed  through 
the  crisis  of  his  life  At  a  later  time,  when  he  reflected  in 
his  quiet  seclusion  at  the  Wartburg  on  the  events  of  these 
days,  he  was  inclined  to  blame  himself  that  he  had  been  too 
lenient  with  his  enemies,  and  charged  his  enforced  leniency 
to  the  counsels  of  his   friends. "^^s)      Nevertheless,  he  could 


481)  XV,  1880. 

482)  XV,  1890. 

483)  XV,  2536. 


"l   AM  THROUGH  !"  223 

hardly  have  achieved  more  than  he  did.  His  argument  was 
a  complete  success,  not  only  from  the  moral,  but  also  from 
the  strategic  point  of  view.  When  the  session  of  the  Diet 
on  April  18  broke  up,  T.Aithcr  was  unrefuted,  and  the  con- 
tention that  he  must  not  be  condemned  unless  overcome  by 
convincing  proofs  was  still  valid.  Every  member  of  the 
Diet,  the  Romanists  included,  felt  that,  and  they  also  saw 
that  repression,  which  they  had  tried,  was  the  worst  policy 
that  they  could  adopt.  But  they  learned  no  lesson  from  their 
defeat.  During  the  recent  celebration  of  the  four-hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  Reformation  a  Roman  priest  in  Brooklyn 
stated  correctly:  "There  is  no  doubt  that  the  religious  prob- 
lem to-day  is  still   the  Luther  problem.""*^-*) 

Rome   is  a  defeated  host,   whether  they  acknowledge  it 
or  not. 

"They're  judged,  the  deed  is  done!" 


484)  DLER,  p.  I. 


APPENDIX. 


I.  Origin  and  Character  of  the  German  Diet. 

The  DieH^-"^)  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  was  a  deliber- 
ative assembly.  Out  of  it  have  grown  the  congresses  and 
parliaments  of  the  great  nations  of  modern  times.  To  ex- 
plain the  origin  of  the  medieval  German  Diet,  historians  go 
back  to  the  early  history  of  the  Frankish  Empire.  On  the 
eve  of  their  annual  marauding  expeditions,  which  were 
started  about  the  time  that  the  crops  were  beginning  to 
ripen,  the  Franks  met  in  a  tribal  assembly,  which  the  Latin 
chroniclers  have  called  the  Placitum,  because  by  casting  their 
votes  (placet)  the  Franks  at  such  a  meeting  decided  issues 
that  were  laid  before  them.  Originally  the  Placitum  had 
taken  place  as  early  as  the  month  of  March,  and  its  principal 
object  had  been  to  institute  a  military  census  and  a  review 
of  the  men  fit  to  go  to  war.  It  was  called  Campus  Martii. 
After  755  the  Placitum  took  place  in  May,  and  was  called 
Campus  Maii.  The  right  to  vote  at  these  assemblies  was 
accorded  to  the  actual  warriors  of  the  tribe,  or,  in  the  case 
of  the  aged,  to  the  veterans  of  former  campaigns.     Besides 


485)  "Tile  word  is  undoubtedly  ultimately  derived  from  the  Greek 
diaita  (I^at.  diaeta),  which  nuaut  'mode  of  life,'  the  English  'diet'  or 
'regimen.'  This  was  connected  with  the  Greek  verb  diaitan,  in  the  sense  of 
'to  rule,'  'to  regulate.'  Compare  the  office  of  diaitetes  at  Athens,  and 
dieteta.  'umpire,'  in  Late  Latin  In  both  Greek  and  Latin,  too,  the  word 
meant  'a  room,'  from  which  the  transition  to  *a  place  of  assembly'  and  so 
to  'an  assembly'  would  be  easy.  In  the  latter  sense  the  word,  however, 
actually  ocurs  only  in  Low  Latin,  l)u  Cange  {Glossarium,  s.  v.)  deriving  it 
from  the  late  sense  of  meal  or  feast,  the  Germans  being  accustomed  to 
combine  their  ])olitical  assemblies  with  feasting.  It  is  clear,  too,  that  the 
word  diaeta  early  became  confused  with  the  Latin  dies,  'day'  (Germ.  Tag), 
'especially  a  set  day,  a  day  appointed  for  public  business;  whence,  by 
extension,  meeting  for  business,  an  assembly.'  (Skeat.)  Instances^  of  this 
confusion  are  given  by  I)u  Cange,  e.  g.,  diaeta  for  dicta,  'a  day's  joumey' 
(also  an  obsolete  sense  of  'diet'  in  English),  and  dieta  for  'the  ordinary 
course  of  the  Church,'  i.  e.,  'the  daily  office,'  which  suggests  the  original 
sense  of  diaeta  as  'a  prescribed  mode  of  life.'  "     {Encycl.  Brit.  8,  211.) 


ORIGIN    AND   CHARACTER   OF   THE   GERMAN    DIET.  225 

the  question  of  war  and  of  the  details  of  a  campaign,  these 
assemblies  also  deliberated  on  important  matters  of  politics 
and  justice. 

The  Placitiim  and  the  Field  of  May,  then,  were  soldiers' 
caucuses  and  rested  on  the  theory  that  every  free  man,  able 
to  defend  and  preserve  his  freedom,  is  the  equal  of  every 
other  freeman.  Tnasmnch  as  every  ]'>ank  was  born  into 
tribal  equality  and  freedom,  and  trained  to  warlike  service, 
these  assemblies  were  popular  conventions  of  compeers. 

The  democratic  principle  underlying  these  essemblies  suf- 
fered encroachments  in  the  course  of  time.  One  came  from 
an  ecclesiastical,  the  other  from  a  social  or  political  source. 
The  clergy  of  those  days  were  regarded  as  a  class  superior 
to  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  accorded  special  honors.  As 
the  Church  developed  its  episcopal  system,  culminating  later 
in  papal  absolutism,  the  higher  clergy  in  particular  became 
a  distinguished  element  in  the  tribe  or  nation,  and  were 
vested  with  extraordinary  prerogatives.  They  possessed  a 
better  education  and  higher  intelligence,  which,  together  with 
their  spiritual  authority,  gave  their  counsels  greater  weight 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  Moreover,  their  connection  with 
churchmen  in  other  countries  had  broadened  their  intellec- 
tual horizon,  enabled  them,  better  than  ordinary  men  whose 
knowledge  of  the  world  hardly  extended  beyond  the  borders 
of  their  country,  to  foresee  and  measure  the  results  of  public 
acts,  and  made  them  efficient  agents  for  the  negotiation  of 
treaties  and  alliances. 

Alongside  of  these  ecclesiastical  superiors  there  arose  a 
class  of  social  aristocrats,  mostly  men  of  prowess  in  warlike 
expeditions.  Armies  must  have  leaders.  Deeds  of  valor  on 
the  battlefield  bring  distinction  and  sometimes  great  material 
reward.  Wealth,  in  turn,  gives  its  possessors  power  over 
men  less  favored  in  worldly  goods.  All  these  elements  con- 
tributed to  the  rise  of  social  and  political  "magnates."    With 

DAU,    TRIBUNAL    OF     CAESAR.  1  .S 


226  ORIGIN   AND   CHARACTER  OF  THE  GERMAN   DIET. 

the  rise  of  the  feudal  system  great  lords  are  seen  to  deter- 
mine not  only  their  own  personal  actions,  but  also  those  of 
their  dependents  and  followers.  Thus  there  developed 
among  the  Franks,  even  before  Charlemagne,  a  smaller  body 
of  influential  men — "the  magnates  of  the  Empire,  both  lay 
and  ecclesiastical" — who  were  used  by  the  king  for  the  set- 
tlement of  national  affairs. 

The  ancient  Field  of  May,  when  all  Franks  met  in  a  gen- 
eral convention,  was  not  discontinued  under  Charlemagne 
and  his  successors,  but  the  meeting  of  the  magnates  took 
place  at  the  same  time  and  began  to  act  as  a  sort  of  "upper 
house"  in  the  national  assembly.  Gradually  the  center  of 
power  passed  from  the  general  convention  to  the  inner  circle 
of  magnates  with  which  the  ruling  sovereign  surrounded 
himself.  Only  matters  of  the  greatest  moment  were  referred 
to  the  general  convention,  and  in  the  course  of  time  its  ap- 
proval came  to  be  an  empty  formality.  Under  the  old  mili- 
tary system  of  the  Franks  every  free  man  had  been  liable  to 
service,  and  the  levy  for  an  expedition  was  made  on  the 
entire  tribe.  In  feudal  times  the  lords  and  barons  furnished 
the  soldiers  from  their  retinue,  and  the  Field  of  May  became 
meaningless,  and  after  the  close  of  the  tenth  century  passed 
out  of  existence.  The  Diet  became  an  assembly  of  aristo- 
crats, princes  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State. 

The  Holy  Roman  Empire  as  established  by  Charlemagne 
with  the  aid  of  the  Pope,  embraced  the  rcgnum  Italicum 
(Italy)  and  the  rcgnum  Teutonicum  (Germany).  Accord- 
ingly, the  imperial  Diet,  or  Reichstag,  of  the  Middle  Ages 
was  composed  of  German  and  Italian  representatives.  How- 
ever,- the  German  magnates  were  always  numerically  the 
strongest  party,  and  as  the  Empire  became  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  of  the  German  Nation,  Italian  representation,  ex- 
cept through  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  ceased. 


ORIGIN    AND   CHARACTER   OF   THE   GERMAN    DIET.  227 

The  Diet  being  now  composed  of  princes,  both  Liy  and 
ecclesiastical,  became  a  Fuerstentag — a  Diet  of  Princes. 
Occasionally,  as  during  the  crusades,  summons  to  attend  the 
Diet  would  be  issued  to  knights;  but  these,  even  when  they 
attended,  were  not  regular  members.  Within  the  secular 
aristocratic  band  of  the  Fucrstcn  a  distintegration  set  in 
during  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the  seven  electors  con- 
stituted themselves  a  separate  body,  at  first  merely  with  the 
connivance  of  the  other  princes.  As  among  all  Teutonic 
tribes,  so  also  among  the  Germans  the  king  was  elected  by 
the  people  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  right  of  suffrage. 
However,  there  was  a  silent  understanding  that  only  mem- 
bers of  a  particular  family  were  eligible — the  dynastic  prin- 
ciple. This  principle  that  the  German  king  must  spring  from 
the  choice  of  the  German  electorate  was  emphatically  as- 
serted. ('.  (/..  in  1077  at  Forchhcim,  when  it  was  solemnly 
proclaimed  in  the  presence  of  the  papal  legates  and  promptly 
put  in  operation  by  the  election  of  Rudolph  of  Suabia  as 
rival  king  to  Henry  IV.  In  the  first  centuries  of  the  Middle 
Ages  the  election  of  the  king  was  performed  by  all  the  eccle- 
siastical and  secular  princes  of  the  realm.  Among  these  the 
Archbishop  of  Mayence  was  given  a  priority  by  being  en- 
trusted with  the  management  of  the  election.  The  Sachscn- 
spiegel  (prior  to  12v^5).  a  digest  of  old  German  laws,  names 
six  princes  of  the  realm  who  have  a  preferential- vote  at  the 
election  of  a  king,  or  emperor:  three  of  ecclesiastical  rank, 
T75.,  the  archbishops  of  Mayence,  Treves,  and  Cologne,  and 
three  of  secular  rank,  7'/r.,  the  Prince  Palatine  of  the  Rhine, 
the  Duke  of  Saxony,  and  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg. 
The  double  election  of  1257  (Alphonse  of  Castile  and  Rich- 
ard of  Cornwallis)  was  performed  exclusively  by  these  six 
princes  of  the  Kmpire.  At  the  same  time  the  king  of  Bo- 
hemia was  admitted   as   the  seventh  elector.     Each   of  the 


228  ORIGIN   AND   CHARACTER  OF  THE  GERMAN   DIET. 

electors  was  entrusted  with  an  office  that  made  him  the 
immediate  attendant  upon  the  king  or  emperor,^^^)  and  all 
of  them  were  distinguished  by  a  special  attire.^^'^^  Also  the 
election  of  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg  (1273)  was  performed  ex- 
clusively by  the  seven  electors,  although  at  this  election  the 
king  of  Bavaria  was  substituted  for  the  king  of  Bohemia, 
which  caused  a  political  wrangle  that  was  not  settled  until 
1290,  when  the  king  of  Bohemia  was  appointed  imperial 
Cupbearer,  and  therewith  acknowledged  as  the  seventh 
elector.  Also  the  Schzvahenspiegcl,  a  digest  of  old  Suabian 
laws,  gives  the  electoral  college  as  above  enumerated.  Since 
the  fourteenth  century  the  electors  begin  to  act  also  in  the 
capacity  of  coregents,  by  issuing  Willebriefc,  that  is,  written 
declarations  of  consent  to  all  important  imperial  edicts  and 
mandates. 

In  1356  the  separation  of  the  electors  from  the  rest  of 
the  princes  received  the  highest  sanction  by  the  Golden  Bull 
of  Emperor  Charles  IV.  This  document  took  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Diet  that  function  which  had  been  one  of  its 
original  and  most  highly  prized  prerogatives,  and  consigned 
it  to  a  political  coterie.  Henceforth  the  election  of  an 
emperor  did  not  really  require  the  convening  of  the  Diet; 
the  "Big  Seven"  decided  among  themselves  who  was  to  be 


486)  The  so-called  Ercaemter,  imperial  or  royal  court  charges.  They 
arc  said  to  be  the  continuation  and  extension  of  the  four  highest  offices  at 
the  royal  Franconian  Court:  that  of  Sennechal  (derm.  Truclisess,  r>at. 
dapifcr — the  bearer  of  the  royal  cliair),  Marshal  ((lerni.  Stallmeister,  Lat. 
comes  siabuli).  Chancellor  (Cierm.  Kaeiniuercr,  Lat.  tlicsauraritis) ,  and  Cup- 
bearer (Germ.  Schcnk,  Lat.  buticulan'its).  The  Golden  Bull  legalized  these 
offices  as  then  existing,  and  attached  them  permanently  to  the  incumbents 
of  certain  dignities:  the  arch-chancellorship  for  Germany  was  attached  to  the 
see  of  Mayence,  the  arch-chancellorship  for  Burgundy  to  the  see  of  Treves, 
the  arch-chancellorship  for  Italy  to  the  see  of  Cologne,  the  arch-cupbearer- 
ship  to  the  crown  of  Bohemia,  the  arch-marshalship  to  the  crown  of  Saxony 
the  arch-chamberlainshii)  to  the  crown  of  Brandenburg.  The  functions  of 
each  official  were  defined  at  each  coronation.   (Meyer,  Konvers.-Lex.  G,  80.) 

4  87)  Tiie  electoral  gown  {Kurmantel)  was  a  long  cloak  that  touched 
the  ground;  for  the  ecclesiastical  electors  it  was  made  of  scarlet  cloth;  for 
the  secular  electors,  of  red  velvet,  with  a  fur  cap  of  ermine,  and  trimmed 
with  ermine  around  the  wide  sleeves  and  all  the  way  down  in  front.  A 
special  head-piece  (Ktirhut)  had  also  been  adopted  for  the  electors.  Meyer, 
/.  c.  11,  S5o. 


ORIGIN    AND    CHARACTER   Or   THE   GERMAN    DIET.  229 

emperor,  and  the  emperor  thus  chosen  was,  of  course,  under 
an  obligation  to  them.  The  Golden  Bull  also  decreed  that 
electoral  domains  were  not  to  be  divided,  that  electors  were 
entitled  to  full  royal  honors,  that  they  must  meet  for  con- 
sultation once  a  year,  and  that  a  diet  must  be  held  at  the 
same  time  in  the  city  which  the  electors  had  chosen  for  their 
meeting.  The  power  of  the  electors  was  increased  still  more 
by  means  of  the  "Capitulations  of  Election,"  that  is,  condi- 
tions, or  guarantees,  which  the  newly  elected  sovereign  had 
to  affirm  by  oath  before  his  coronation.  This  scheme  of 
capitulations  was  adopted  by  the  electors  without  consulting 
the  other  estates  of  the  Empire.  Charles  V  was  the  first 
German  emperor  to  swear  to  these  capitulations.  During 
the  Diet  the  electors  formed  a  special  Electoral  College 
or  Coimcil,  o^'er  which  the  Archbishop  of  Mayence  pre- 
sided. 

While  the  electors  passed  out  of  the  common  council  of 
princes,  members  of  the  nobility,  both  counts  and  lords,  were 
admitted  as  regular  members  and  assigned  to  groups  that 
were  geographically  delimited.  Moreover,  a  third  division 
of  the  Diet  began  to  form  since  1320,  when  the  imperial  and 
episcopal  towns  often  sent  representatives  to  the  Diet,  al- 
though these  had  no  vote.  This  last  division  was  signally 
benefited  by  the  Reformation :  for  from  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  they  were  recognized  as  a  separate  and 
regular  estate,  though  it  took  another  century  and  a  half 
till  they  were  raised  to  full  ecpiality  with  the  electors  and 
princes  l)y  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  (1648).  "P.y  the  four- 
teenth century,  therefore,  the  originally  homogeneous  diet  of 
princes  is  already,  at  any  rate  practically,  if  not  yet  in  legal 
form,  divided  into  three  colleges — the  electors,  the  princes 
and  nobles,  and  the  representatives  of  the  towns."  "The 
estate  of  the  towns,  or  college  of  numicii)al  rcjjresentatives, 
was  divided  into  two  branches,   the   Rhenish  and   the   Sua- 


230  ORIGIN    AND   CHARACTER   OF   THE   GERMAN    DIET. 

bian."^^^)      In   the   Electoral   College,   as   stated,   the   Arch- 
bishop of  Mayence  presided  c.v  officio   (Kiirmainz) ;  in  the 


488)  Menzel  {Germany,  p.  1085  flf.),  on  the  basis  of  the  imperial  regis- 
ter, reports  that  the  Diet  of  1521,  under  Charles  V,  was  divided  into  ten 
districts,  or  circles,  entitled  to  the  following  representation:  1.  Circle  of 
Austria:  Archduke  of  Austria  (Hapsburg),  Bishops  of  Trent,  Brixen, 
Gurk,  Sekau,  Lavant. — 2.  Circle  of  Burgundy :  Duke  of  Burgundy  (Haps- 
burg).— 3.  Circle  of  Lower  Rhine:  Archbishops  of  Mayence,  Treves,  Cologne, 
and  the  Rhenish  Pfalzgraf,  of  the  house  of  Wittelsbach,  all  four  electoral 
princes.  The  city  of  Gelnhausen. — 4.  Circle  of  Franconia:  Bishops  of  Bam- 
berg, Wuerzburg,  and  Eichstaedt.  The  Master  of  the  Teutonic  Order  of 
Mergentheim.  The  Margraves  of  Brandenburg,  of  Bayreuth,  Culmbach 
(formerly  Burgravcs  of  Nuremberg),  of  the  house'  of  Hohenzollern.  The 
Counts  of  Hohenlohe,  Erbach,  and  other  petty  nobles.  The  cities  of  Nu- 
remberg, Windsheim,  Weissenburg,  Rotenburg,  Schweinfurt. — 5.  Circle  of 
Siiahia;  Bishops  of  Augsburg,  Constance,  Coire,  Abbots  of  Kempten, 
Reichenau,  St.  Gall,  Weingarten,  and  numerous  others.  Dtike  of  Wuerttem- 
berg.  Margrave  of  Baden.  Counts  von  Ettingen,  Fuerstenberg,  Montfort, 
Eberstein,  Loewenstein,  Helfenstein,  etc.  Innumerable  petty  nobles.  Cities: 
Augsburg,  Ulm,  Kempten,  Leutkirch,  Wangen,  Ravensberg,  Ueberlingen, 
Pfullendorf,  Schaffhausen,  Esslingen,  Weil,  Wimpfen,  Dunkelsbuehl,  Gruen- 
ingen,  Noerdlingen,  Buchau,  Gengenbach,  Rotweil,  Kaufbeuren,  Memmingen, 
Biberach,  Ismy,  Lindau,  Buchhorn,  Constance,  St.  Gall,  Reutlingen,  Gmund, 
Heilbronn,  Hall,  Bopfingen,  Aalen,  Donauwoerth,  Offenburg,  Zelt. — 6.  Circle 
of  Bavaria:  Archbishop  of  Salzburg.  'Bishops  of  Passau,  Freising,  Ratis- 
bon,  Kemsen  (Chiemsee).  Duke  of  Bavaria  and  Pfalzgraf  of  Neuberg,  of 
the  house  of  Wittelsbach.  Landgrave  of  Leuchtenberg  (shortly  afterward 
extinct).  Count  von  Orenberg,  and  some  others  of  lesser  note.  The  city 
of  Ratisbon. — 7.  Circle  of  Upper  Rhine:  Bishops  of  Worms,  Strassburg, 
BesanQon,  Geneva,  Metz,  Verdun.  Spires,  Basle,  Sion,  Lausanne,  Toul, 
Princely  Abbots  of  Fulda,  Hirschfeld,  and  numerous  others  of  lesser  note. 
Duke  of  Lorraine  and  of  Savoy,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  Count  von  Nassau, 
Rhinegrave  von  Salm,  Counts  von  Bitsch,  Hanau,  Leiningen,  Falkenstein, 
Isenburg,  Solms,  Wittgenstein,  Waldeck,  etc.  Cities:  Basle,  Colmar, 
Tuerkheim,  Ober-Ebenheim,  Rossheim,  Hagenau,  Landau,  Worms,  Friede- 
burg,  Metz,  Verdun,  BesanQon,  Gailhausen  Muehlhausen,  Kaisersberg, 
Muenster  (in  the  Georgenthal),  Strassburg,  Schlettstadt,  Weissenburg, 
Spires,  Frankfort,  Wetzlar,  Toul,  Saarbrueck. — 8.  Circle  of  Westphalia: 
Bishops  of  Paderborn,  Utrecht,  Cammerich,  Verdun,  Liege,  Muenster, 
Osnabrueck,  Minden.  Abbots  of  Corvey,  Stable,  etc.  Abbesses  of  Heer- 
voorden,  Essen,  etc.  Dukes  of  Juliers  and  Berg,  Cleves  and  Mark.  Counts 
von  Oldenburg,  Bentheim,  Wied,  Manderscheid,  Lippe,  Moers,  etc.  Cities: 
Cologne,  Wesel,  Cammerich,  Soest,  Heervoorden,  Warberg,  Verdun,  Aix-la- 
chapelle,  Deubern,  Dortmund,  Duisburg,  Bragkel,  Lengad. — 9.  Circle  of 
Upper  Saxony:  Elector  of  Saxony,  of  the  house  of  Wettin.  Elector  of 
Brandenburg,  of  the  house  of  Hohenzollern.  The  Master  of  the  Teutonic 
Order  in  Prussia,  and  the  Landmaster  in  Livonia.  Bishops  of  Misnia,  Mersc- 
burg,  Naumburg,  Brandenburg,  Havelberg,  Lebus,  Camin;  Abbess  of  Qucd- 
linburg.  Abbot  of  Saalfeld,  Wolkenried,  etc.  Dukes  of  Saxon-Thuringia 
(the  Albertine  line  of  the  house  of  Wettin).  Dukes  of  Pomcrania,  princes 
of  Anhalt,  Counts  von  Mansfield,  Schwarzburg,  Stolberg,  Hohenstcin, 
Gleuchen,  etc.  Cities:  Danzig,  Elbing,  Wolkenried. — 10.  Circle  of  Lower 
Saxony:  Archbishops  of  Madgcburg  and  Bremen.  Bishops  of  Halberstadt, 
Hildesheim,  Luebeck,  Schwerin,  Ratzcberg,  Schleswig.  Dukes  of  Holstein 
(king  of  Denmark,  of  the  house  of  Oldenburg),  Brunswick  (of  the  house  of 
Guelph),  Saxon-Lauenburg  (of  the  house  of  Anhalt),  and  Mecklenburg. 
Cities:  Luebeck,  Hamburg,  Goettingen.  Goslar,  Nordhavisen,  Muehlhausen, 
Wisniar,  Rostock,  Stralsund,  Brunswick,  Madgeburg,  Lemgo,  Erfurt,  Limburg. 
— This  representation  is  fnquertly  cited  as  authoritative,  but  it  is  not  accu- 
rate and  incomplete.  However,  it  enables  one  to  obtain  a  fair  picture 
of  the  nobility,  wealth,  and  power  that  was  gathered  at  Worms  and  saw 
and  heard  Luther. — The  Jena  edition  of  Luther's  Works  (1564),  Vol.  I, 
fol.  437  b,  prints  a  list  of  202  names  of  prominent  representatives  in  attend- 
ance at  the  Diet.     The  list  is  reproduced  in  XV.  1873-7. 


WURMBS.  231 

college  of  princes  and  nobles  the  presidency  alternated  be- 
tween Salzburg  and  Austria ;  in  the  college  of  municipalities 
the  presidency  was  accorded  to  that  city  in  which  the  Diet 
happened  to  meet.'*^^) 


II.  Wurmbs. 

With  the  aid  of  his  Kieperf**^^)  the  classical  student  lo- 
cates a  region  on  the  lower  Rhine  that  is  designated  as  the 
territory  of  the  Vangiones,  of  whom  Caesar  speaks  in  his 
war  reports  to  the  Roman  Senate.  This  Teutonic  tribe,  after 
its  defeat  by  the  Roman  legions,  was  settled  a  little  farther 
up-stream  by  the  Roman  general,  in  and  around  the  Celtic 
Vims  Borhetomagus.  In  the  days  of  Ariovist,  who  caused 
Caesar  more  trouble  than  other  barbarian  chieftains,  Bor- 
hetomagus was  the  capital  of  the  Vangiones.  A  Roman 
castrum  (fortified  camp,  or  citadel)  was  erected  here  under 
Drusus.  This  hamlet  Borhetomagus,  with  the  fortified  Ro- 
man camp  a  few  centuries  later,  became  one  of  the  most 
famous  royal  residences  in  early  German  history,  the  city 
of  Worms. 

Located  on  the  western  bank  of  Germany's  noblest  river, 
not  very  many  miles  below  the  point  where  the  Rhine  turns 
northward  and  leaves  the  highland  plateau  of  Upper  Ger- 
many, to  flow  through  a  wide  and  fertile  valley,  Worms  and 
the  region  round  about  was  "beautiful  for  situation,"  and 
its  variegated  landscape  a  joy  to  the  eye  of  the  traveler. 
Mountain  ranges  rising  gradually  to  considerable  heights  are 
seen  from  the  river's  bank,  framing  the  distant  horizon 
both  towards  the  west  and  the  east.  Not  far  eastward  be- 
yond the  horizon  lies  beautiful  Heidelberg. 

At  a  very  early  period  this  beauty  spot  on  the  Middle 
Rhine  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Burgundian  kings,  who 
as  earlv  as  the   fifth   century   set  up  their   residence   here — 


4S9)    Encycl.  Brit,  and   Meyer's  Koin'ers.l.cx.,  passim;  also  histories  of 
Germany. 

490)     Atlas  Antiquus,    Tab.    XI,    Ehi. 


232  WURMBS. 

in  the  famous  IVonnegau  (Meadow  of  Delights),  which 
PTeinrich  von  Ofterdingen  has  immortaHzed  in  his  lyrics. 
German  folklore  has,  moreover,  raised  a  literary  monument 
around  ancient  Worms  in  the  great  epic  of  the  Nibelungen. 
Across  the  river  from  Worms  Princess  Kriemhilde  had  laid 
out  her  charming  "Garden  of  Roses."  To  Worms  young 
Prince  Siegfried  came  from  Xanten-on-the-Rhine  to  woo  the 
royal  maiden  at  the  hand  of  her  brother  Guenther,  and  to 
win  her,  after  he  had  aided  in  securing  the  matchless  Brun- 
hilde  for  Guenther's  queen.  At  the  portal  of  the  cathedral 
in  this  city  the  fatal  quarrel  between  the  two  queens  took 
place  that  cost  Siegfried  his  life,  and  in  the  cathedral  the 
body  of  the  young  hero,  who  was  so  treacherously  slain,  lay 
in  state.  With  pride  the  citizens  of  Worms  pointed  out 
v^iegfried's  grave  to  the  stranger,  and  one  of  Siegfried's 
great  exploits,  his  fight  with  the  lindzvurni,  a  huge  dragon, 
had  furnished  the  design  for  the  arms  of  the  city;  the  citi- 
zens even  believed  that  this  feat  had  given  the  city  its  name, 
for  by  that  time  Borbetomagus  had  become  Wurmbs,  or 
Wormze.  The  city  was  destroyed  by  the  Huns,  "^^^^  but  was 
rebuilt  by  the  Merovingians.  At  the  division  of  the  empire 
by  Charlemagne,  Worms  fell  to  Louis  the  German,  who  had 
desired  it  propter  7'iui  copiam,  on  account  of  the  abundance 
of  excellent  wine  that  was  produced  there,'*^-^  and  who  made 
Worms  the  pride  of  his  kingdom. 

"Tt  is  uncertain  at  what  time  the  Christian  religion  gained 
an  entrance  into  the  settlement  of  the  Vangiones ;  the  in- 
scriptions are  of  too  late  a  date,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Council 
of  Cologne  held  in  346,  in  which  a  Bishop  Victor  of  Worms 
is  mentioned,  are  a  forgery.  Yet  it  is  evident  from  Orosius, 
Historia  VII,  c.  XXXII  (P.  L.  XXXI,  1144),  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  was 


491)  The  American  seeker  after  knowledge  is  gently  warned  not  to 
confound  with  this  people  the  Huns  about  whom  he  has  been  regaled  with 
such  horrible  tales  of  late.  Any  half-way  respectable  encyclopedia  will 
inform  him  that  there  is  no  racial  or  other  connection  between  the  two 
peoples. 

492)  To  this  day  the  "Katerlocher"  and  "Luginslander"  of  the  vine- 
yards in  the  district  of  Worms  are  famous  wines. 


WURMBS.  233 

predominantly  Christian,  and  had  also  ecclesiastical  organ- 
ization. It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed  that  as  early  as  the 
second   half   of   the   fourth   century   there   was   a   bishop   at 

Worms y\bout  750  the  Diocese  of  Worms,  which  lay 

on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine,  was  made  a  suffragan  of  May- 
ence.  Among  the  bishops  of  the  succeeding  centuries  the 
most  important  arc:  Burchard  (1000-1025),  noted  for  his 
collection  of  ecclesiastical  canons  called  "Collectarium"  or 
"Decretum."  and  during  whose  administration  the  Cathe- 
dral school  flourished  greatly;  Adalbert  (1069-1107),  a  "pil- 
lar and  ornament  of  the  Church  of  Germany,"  who  opposed 
Henry  IV  in  the  struggle  over  Investitures,  while  the  city 
supported  the  Emperor;  Emerich  von  Schoeneck  (1308  to 
1318),  who  had  rigid  laws  passed  at  the  diocesan  synod  of 
1316,  both  for  the  secular  and  the  regular  clergy. 
The  diocese  never  recovered  from  the  quarrels  of  the  period 
1329-1343.  The  cathedral  chapter  had  elected  Gerlach  von 
Erbach  (1329-1332)  as  bishop,  while  John  XXII  had  ap- 
pointed Salmann,  Provost  of  Mayence.  After  Gerlach's 
death  Salmann  was  not  recognized  by  the  diocese  and  did 
not  obtain  possession  of  it  until  1343;  his  episcopate  lasted 
until  1359.  Matters  were  even  worse  during  the  rule  of 
Eckart  of  Ders  (1371-1405.  The  citizens  of  Worms  threw 
off  the  authority  of  the  bishop  completely,  and  imprisoned 
the  priests.  The  churches  were  empty,  the  services  ceased. 
Bishop  Frederick  II  (1426-1445)  and  Reinhard  von  Sick- 
ingen  (1445-1482)  exerted  themselves  to  introduce  reforms, 
as  did  also  John  III  von  Dalberg  (1482-1503),  who  was  a 
highly  educated  patron  of  ITunianisni  and  a  lover  of  art.""*^'*) 
The  diocese  of  Worms  was  one  of  the  most  unruly  in 
that  part  of  Germany.  Within  the  frowning  walls  of 
Worms  there  lived  a  spirited,  courageous,  enlightened  bofly 
of  citizens  who  had  early  begun  to  nurse  a  grudge  against 
priests,  and  in  frequent  and  long  conflicts  with  their  bishops 
had  become  ardent  lovers  of  liberty.  Many  papal  bulls  had 
been   hurled  and   interdicts  decreed  against   them,  but   they 


493)   Cath.  Encycl.  XV,  707  f. 


234  WURMBS. 

had  treated  them  with  scorn.  The  trouble  had  started  dur- 
ing the  administration  of  Bishop  Burchard,  who  undertook 
to  destroy  the  ancient  ancestral  castle  of  the  Salian  line  of 
Franks  and  to  rebuild  his  cathedral.  The  citizens  resented 
this  act  of  vandalism,  and  ever  after  were  on  the  qui  vive 
against  Roman  aggression.  In  the  fatal  struggle  between 
the  Roman  miter  and  the  German  crown,  which  resulted  in 
the  humiliation  of  Henry  IV  at  Canossa  and  in  his  final  dis- 
comfiture, Worms  had  loyally  stood  w^ith  the  Emperor,  who 
found  an  asylum  in  this  city  in  1073,  for  which  he  rewarded 
the  city  with  an  imperial  charter  and  valuable  franchises 
(Jan.  18,  1074).  At  Worms,  too,  the  synod  was  convened 
which  in  1074  deposed  Pope  Gregory  VII  from  office,  and 
here  the  concordat  was  signed  in  1122,  which  ended  the  long 
controversy  between  the  Curia  and  the  German  sovereigns 
on  the  question  which  of  the  two  had  the  right  to  appoint 
bishops."*^*) 

By  the  Pact  of  Wuerzburg,  Worms  was  given  to  Henry 
V,  w^ho  built  a  strong  fortress  north  of  the  city  and  granted 
the. city  still  greater  privileges,  which  Frederick  confirmed. 
Worms  was  the  favorite  residence  of  Maximilian  I,  the  pred- 
ecessor of  Charles  V.  At  the  Diet  which  he  held  in  this 
city  in  1495  the  Perpetual  Peace  *^^)  was  proclaimed,  and 
the  Imperial  Court  which  was  to  enforce  its  conditions  was 
transferred  from  Frankfort  to  Worms. 

The  cathedral  of  Worms  was  founded  by  King  Dagobert, 
and  rebuilt  about  1000  by  Bishop  (Duke)  Burchard,  in  Ro- 
manesque style.  It  was  repeatedly  damaged  and  near  the 
point  of  collapse,  when  it  was  rebuilt  and  rededicated  in 
1181.  In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  several  ad- 
ditions were  built  in  Gothic  style,  chapels,  portals,  etc.  The 
cathedral  took  under  the  sheltering  wings  of  Christianity 
the  ''three  mothers"  (tria  fata)  of  the  pagan  Celts,  one  of 


494)  The  Investiturstrcit.  The  controversy  was,  of  course,  a  purely 
political  one  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Christian  religion.  No  one 
has  a  right  to  "appoint"  a  bishop  for  Christians,  neither  an  emperor  nor  a 
Pope.  If  Christians  want  a  bishop,  distinct  from  their  pastor,  who  is  the 
true  New  Testament  bishop,  they  may  choose  one,  and  dismiss  him  when 
they  have  no  longer  need  of  him. 

495)  Dcr  ewige  Landfricde. 


WURMBS.  235 

whom,  Worbetta,  really  gave  the  name  to  the  former  Bor- 
betomagus.  They  were  worshiped  at  the  cathedral,  along- 
side of  St.  Ursula,  under  the  names  of  St.  Einbede,  St.  War- 
bede,  and  St.  Willebede.  The  present  edifice,  with  an  in- 
terior 109  m.  long  and  27  m.  wide  (36  m.  in  the  transept), 
is  a  fine,  symmetrical  structure  with  two  cui)olas  and  four 
steeples,  and  is  said  to  make  an  imposing  impression  by  its 
sublime  simplicity.  Before  lyUther  was  born,  a  reformer, 
Ruchart  von  Wesel,  had  preached  in  this  cathedral  a  long 
time,  until  Bishop  Reinhart  von  Sickingen  and  Archbishop 
Diether  of  Mayence  had  stopped  him.  He  was  condemned 
for  Hussite  heresy  by  the  Dominicans  of  Mayence  and  per- 
ished in  the  dungeon  of  the  Carmelite  monastery. 

Outside  of  the  inner  city  lines  lies  the  Church  of  Our 
Blessed  Lady  (Liehfrancnkirchc),  built  with  a  beautiful  por- 
tal in  the  second  half  of  the  fifth  century.  Vineyards  have 
been  planted  around  this  church,  from  which  the  famous 
Rhine-wine  Liehfraucnmilch  is  obtained.  Among  the  ruins 
of  the  old  monastery  Himmelskron  gravestones  are  found 
dating  back  to  the  thirteenth  and   fourteenth   centuries. 

In  Luther's  time  Worms  occupied  a  central  position  in  the 
public  life  of  Germany.  It  was  regarded  as  a  pearl  among 
the  cities  on  the  Rhine,  a  place  from  which  German  culture 
radiated.  Bishop  John  von  Dalberg  was  the  friend  and  gen- 
erous patron  of  the  leading  German  Humanists,  who  had 
made  their  home  at  Heidelberg.  Reuchlin,  Rudolph  Agricola, 
and  Conrad  Celtes  called  him  their  Maecenas.  Through 
these  men  the  book-trade  of  Worms  was  developed  to  re- 
markable proportions.  The  papal  nuncios  during  the  Diet 
of  1521  had  many  grievances  to  report  to  Rome  regarding 
the  printers  and  publishers  of  Worms. 

Ilausrath,  who  has  had  copious  source  material  at  hand, 
particularly  the  chronicles  of  Friedrich  Zorn  and  of  Franz 
Berthold  of  Flersheim.  says  that  on  Merian's  picture  Worms 
is  shown  as  it  looked  about  the  time  that  Luther's  little  car- 
riage rolled  through  the  Mayence  Gate  on  April  16,  1521, 
and  the  clatter  of  the  cavalcade  that  had  gone  to  meet  and 


236  WURMBS. 

escort  him  rattled  on  the  street  from  Oppenheim.  Spaniards 
and  Frenchmen  had  not  yet  perpetrated  their  Hun-like 
atrocities  upon  it,  which  after  the  end  of  the  Thirty-Years' 
War  began  to  write  fijiis  to  the  glories  of  old  Worms.  A 
narrow  strip  of  meadow  land  ran  between  the  Rhine  and 
the  city  wall.  Thirty  steeples  pierced  the  sky-line  of  the 
city's  panorama  in  those  days.  On  the  banks  of  the  Rhine 
there  was  a  strong  tower,  where  duty  was  levied.  More 
than  thirty  turrets  rose  on  the  city  walls,  chiefly  near  its 
massive  gates.  The  streets  were  paved,  and  the  houses  cov- 
ered with  slate  roofs.  A  magnificent  city  hall,  the  Buerger- 
hof,  had  been  built  in  1486,  in  the  center  of  the  Old  Town 
near  the  market-place.  Near  it  was  the  mint,  in  whose  spa- 
cious halls  great  festivities  were  conducted.  Alongside  the 
cathedral  was  the  Bischofshof,  the  Bishop's  Palace,  a  giant 
structure  around  which  folklore  had  woven  many  curious 
tales.  It  was  thoroughly  renovated  in  1504  by  Bishop  Rein- 
hard  von  Rippur.  In  this  largest  and  oldest  building  of  the 
city  Luther  stood  before  the  Emperor  and  the  Realm.  Until 
1494  the  confirmation  of  the  city  magistrates  by  proclama- 
tion of  the  Bishop  took  place  in  this  building.  Here,  too, 
the  citizens  paid  homage  to  the  emperors,  who  always  stopped 
here  "according  to  ancient  usage  and  custom."  The  court- 
l)cll  would  summon  them  for  this  purpose  to  the  Saalstcg, 
the  street  leading  to  the  hall,  and  the  magistrates  would  con- 
duct the  emperor  as  far  as  the  stone  stairs  in  the  inner  court. 
From  remote  times  there  were  in  Worms  six  monas- 
teries. In  the  fourteenth  century  two  more  were  added,  for 
the  Dominicans  and  the  Augustinians.  The  Teutonic 
Knights  and  the  Knights  Templar  had  hostels  in  Worms, 
and  in  the  Kactmncrcvgasse  was  the  hostel  of  the  Knights 
of  St.  John,  where  Luther  stayed  during  his  visit.  Industry 
and  commerce  began  to  flourish  greatly  after  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Perpetual  Peace.  During  the  Diets  which  Em- 
peror Maximilian  conducted  in  this  city,  and  while  the  Im- 
perial Court  was  in  session,  much  money  was  in  circulation. 
Huge  cargoes  of  corn  and  wine  from  the  Wonnegau  were 
transported  up  and  down  the  Rhine, 


WURMBS.  237 

A  part  of  tlie  trade  was  in  the  hands  of  "the  godly  Jews," 
wlio  were  quite  prominent  here  throughout  the  Middle  Ages. 
Their  very  old  synagog — so  the  Jewish  ehronicles  of  Maseh 
Nisim  relate — was  founded  by  descendants  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  whO;  instead  of  going  into  exile  by  the  rivers  of 
Babylon  after  the  destruction  of  their  first  temple,  588  b. 
Chr.,  had  migrated  to  the  Rhine.  They  claimed  to  have 
formed  a  colony  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Darius,  and  their 
l)urial-i)lace  was  in  holy  sand,  said  to  have  been  brought  with 
them  from  Jerusalem.  The  legend  goes  on  to  say  that  they 
had  no  share  in  bringing  about  the  crucifixion  of  Christ;  for 
they  had  written  "the  king"  that  they  did  not  consent  to  the 
execution  of  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth.  Hence  arose  the 
popular  saying:  "Wormser  Juden,  fromme  Juden"  (Worms 
Jews,  godly  Jews).  However,  they  were  still  waiting  for 
the  coming  of  the  true  Messiah,  and  Caesarius  of  Heister- 
bach  has  made  Worms  the  scene  of  the  Story  of  the  Beauti- 
ful Jewess  who  expected  to  give  birth  to  the  Savior  of  the 
world.  The  faithful  members  of  the  synagog  had  their  ar- 
dent hopes  dashed  by  the  birth  of  the  child;  for  it  was  a  girl. 
A  protectorate  over  the  Jews  was  exercised  by  the  chan- 
cellors of  the  city,  the  Dalbergs,  who  boasted  that  one  of 
their  ancestors  had  been  a  cousin  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  ai]d 
were  in  the  habit  of  referring  to  the  Madonna  as  their  aunt. 
This  connection  with  the  royal  house  of  Israel  they  explained 
thus:  The  XXH  l^oman  T.egion,  which  took  part  in  the 
campaign  against  Jerusalem,  had  been  recruitcMl  from  Ger- 
many, whence  also  the  soldiers  who  conducted  Christ  to  Gol- 
gotha had  come;  a  monks'  tale  declared  them  to  be  West- 
phalians.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the  XXH  Le- 
gion returned  to  its  home  country  and  settled  along  the 
Rhine.  Thus,  says  Hausrath,  had  Christian  and  Jewish 
fancv  painted  its  figures  into  the  gray  mists  of  the  past. 
But  the  lovely  relation  between  the  Christian  and  the  Jewish 
part  of  the  population  of  Worms,  which  these  legends  would 
suggest,  existed  only  in  the  happy  imagination  of  the  authors 
of    folklore;    in    actual    life    the    two    elements    frequently 


238    glapion's  exceptions  to  luther's  Babylonian  captivity. 

clashed;  the  greedy  practises  of  Jewish  money-lenders  ex- 
cited Christian  pogroms. 

A  bitter  affliction  had  been  visited  on  the  city  of  Worms 
in  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Maximilian.  In  the  inter- 
mittent conflicts  of  the  city  with  its  bishops  it  had  happened 
again  that  the  citizens,  in  1514,  had  driven  Bishop  Reinhard 
von  Rippur  from  the  city.  Sickingen  had  assumed  the 
Bishop's  defense,  and  therewith  the  role  of  a  champion  of 
the  Church.  This  had  been  done,  not  from  religious  zeal, 
but  in  order  to  have  a  pretext  for  robbing  the  trains  of  mer- 
chandise which  the  rich  burghers  of  Worms  always  had  on 
the  roads  leading  to  and  from  the  city.  In  defiance  of  the, 
injunctions  of  the  Imperial  Court  and  a  repeated  sentence  of 
outlawry  that  was  issued  against  him,  the  bold  knight  had 
carried  on  his  marauding  expeditions  for  five  years,  robbing 
""traders,  destroying  vineyards,  imprisoning  and  cruelly  mal- 
treating travelers,  etc.  Not  until  1518,  after  the  death  of 
Maximilian,  this  feud  was  stopped  by  mutual  ag'reement, 
with  the  understanding  that  the  robber  knight  was  granted 
immunity  and  his  protege,  the  Bishop,  returned  to  Worms. 
Secretly,  however,  the  fires  of  animosity  between  the  Bishop's 
and  the  Citizens'  Party  were  still  smoldering  when  Luther 
enj;ered  Worms.  In  his  Table  Talk  Luther  relates  that  he 
had  seen  evidence  of  the  mutual  hatred  between  these  two 
factions  when  he  found  written  on  the  door  of  the  church 
of  his  patron  saint  Martin  the  following  distich: 

Not  till  the  oceans  dry  up,  and  Satan  is  soaring  to  heaven, 
Layman  and  priest  will  in  truth  treat  each  other  as  friends."*^^*) 


III.  Glapion's  Exceptions  to  Luther's  Babylo- 
nian Captivity,  with  Brueck's  Comment. 

The  rendering  here  given  is  from  the  German  text  (with 
the  Latin  text  compared).     The  references  are  to  the  first 


49G)  Dum  marc  siccatur,  dum  daemon  ad  astra  levatur,  Ttinc  clerico 
laicus  fidus  amicus  erit,  XXII,  G59. — On  City  of  Worms  see  HAL,  pp.  1-6; 
Meyer's  Konvers.-Lex.  20.  751. 


glapion's  exceptions  to  Luther's  Babylonian  captivity.    239 

Wittenberg-  print  of  1520.  The  enumeration  of  the  excep- 
tions is  by  Brucck.  To  each  exception  of  Glapion  Brucck's 
comment,  whenever  there  is  any,  is  added  in  brackets. 

1.  (Fol.  3.)  He  presumes  to  denounce  as  unchristian  (im- 
pios)  all  who  refuse  to  administer  the  venerable  Sacrament  to 
laymen  under  both  forms. 

[Has  it  not  been  instituted  by  Christ  under  both  forms,  and 
has  it  not  been  thus  observed  for  many  hundred  years,  as  is  seen 
from  the  gospels  and  St.  Paul  ?-^The  confessor  repeated  the 
word  impios,  that  is,  unchristian,  sneeringly  (cum  ironia  quadam) 
and  said  :  Is  it  to  lie  impious  not  to  give  something  that  was 
given  or  done  occasionally?] 

2.  (Fol.  6.)  It  is  bad  to  state  that  the  divine  nature  can 
neither  beget  nor  be  begotten. 

[This  assertion  is  indeed  of  little  importance,  as  it  is  a  prod- 
uct of  scholasticism. — The  confessor  added :  "These  arc  mere 
words." — Does  not  Christ  Himself  say :  "My  Father  worketh 
hitherto"  i'*^')  again :  "Thou  art  My  Son,  I  have  begotten 
Thee"  ;49S)  again :  "Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  My  Father, 
the  same  is   My   father,  mother,  brother  and   sister"  ;-*99)    etc.?] 

3.  (Fol.  11.)  He  says  that  the  priests  have  reserved  the 
words  of  the  Sacrament  for  themselves  and  recite  tliem  silently, 
however,  without  deriving  any  benefit  from  them,  because  they 
do  not  view  them  as  a  promise  (for  nourishing  faith),  but  by 
means  of  them  support  unchristian  unbelief  (superstitions)  and 
opinions,  more  than  they  are  aware  of.  The  result  of  this  mis- 
erable practise  is  that  we  have  retained  nothing  of  the  mass  in 
the  Christian  Church,  though  meanwhile  every  corner  of  the 
world  has  been  filled  with  masses,  that  is,  with  misuses  and  de- 
lusive counterfeits  of  the  divine  testament,  and  the  world  is  ever 
more  burdened  with  most  grievous  sins  of  idolatry  for  its  greater 
condemnation. 

[No  doubt,  every  one  who  hears  the  words  of  the  mass  is 
moved  to  greater  devotion  than  he  from  whom  they  are  withheld. 
The  Italians  say  that  we  Germans  see,  but  do  not  hear,  the  mass.] 

4.  (Ibid.)  He  says  there  is  no  doul)t  tliat  all  priests,  monks, 
bishops,  and  their  superiors  are  worshiping  idols,  and  are  in  the 
greatest  danger  because  of  their  ignorance  and  derision  of  the 
mass,  or  Sacrament,  or  promise  of  God. 

[Here  the  confessor  said.  "What?  All?"  He  stressed  the 
word  "all." 


497)    Tulni   "j,  17. 
408)    I's.   2.   7. 
499)    MaU.   12,  .00. 


240      GLAPION's  exceptions   to  LUTHER's   BABYLONIAN  CAPTIVITY. 

It  is  indeed  to  be  feared  that  there  is  a  plenty  of  malpractises 
by  the  clergy  in  their  office.  David  says  :  "There  is  none  that 
doeth  good;  no,  not  one."]^*^*^) 

5.  (Ibid.)  God  has  never  dealt  with  men,  nor  does  He  now 
deal  with  them,  except  through  the  word  of  promise. 

[Indeed,  it  is  as  the  holy  prophet  says:  "He  sent  His  Word, 
and  healed  them,"]"'^'^-' 

6.  (Fol.  14.)  He  says:  "If  in  any  sacrament  or  testament 
no  good  work  can  be  communicated  to  another,  it  cannot  be  done 
in  the  mass,  inasnuich  as  the  mass  is  nothing  else  than  a  sacra- 
ment and  testament,  (and  it  is  useless)  to  ordain  masses  for  the 
living  that  they  may  render  satisfaction  for  their  sins  thereby, 
and  for  the  dead,  or  for  some  personal  need  of  our  own  or  of 
other  men. 

[Perhaps  Doctor  Martin  has  shown  in  this  or  in  his  other 
books  that  the  sacraments  are  exercises  of  faith.] 

7.  (Fol.  15.)  What  is  to  be  said  regarding  the  Canon  Law 
and  the  decisions  of  the  holy  fathers?  I  answer:  If  we  cannot 
say  anything  in  their  defense,  it  is  better  and  safer  to  deny  all 
than  to  concede  that  the  mass  is  a  work  or  sacrifice  (or  that 
the  words  are  to  be  understood  as  referring,  not  to  the  sacra- 
ment or  mass,  but  either  to  the  bread  and   wine,  or  to  the  prayers). 

[Perhaps  Doctor  Martin's  meaning  and  intention  is  that 
Christians  are  not  to  be  governed  by  any  writings  except  the 
divine.] 

8.  (Fol.  16.)  He  says:  You  must  not  be  moved  by  the 
contrary  opinion  of  the  whole  world  as  long  as  you  have  the 
clear  Gospel  on  your  side,  which  will  make  it  easy  for  you  to 
despise  human  notions  and  opinions. 

[The  Lord  Christ  Himself  has  said  that  we  must  not  walk 
in  the  broad  way;  for  the  gate  of  heaven  is'  strait.] ^^2) 

9.  (Fol  18.)  Thus  you  see  how  rich  a  Christian  is;  he 
cannot  lose  eternal  life  by  any  sine,  no  matter  how  great  it  is, 
except  by  unbelief.  For  no  sin  except  unl)elief  can  condemn  him. 
When  faith  in  the  divine  promise  returns  to  him,  all  his  other 
sins  are  consumed  by  his  faith. 

[From  many  passages  of  the  holy  Gospel  it  can  l)c  seen  that 
faith  saves  us :  "Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee"  f^^'^^  "All  things  are 
possible  to  him  that  believeth."]^^*^ 

10.  (Fol.  22.)  Therefore  I  say  that  neither  the  Pope  nor  a 
bishop,  nor  any  other  person  has  the  right  and  authority  to  bind 


500)  Ps.  14,  3. 

501)  Ps.   107,  20. 

502)  Matt.  7,  13-14. 

503)  T.uke    7,    50. 

504)  Mark  9,  23. 


glai'jon's  exceptkjns.  T(i  Luther's  Babylonian  cai>tivitv.    241 

a  Christian  with  a  single  syllable  of  law.  unless  it  is  done  with 
the  Christian's  eonsent.  Whatsoever  is  clone  in  any  other  way  is 
done  in  a  spirit  and  an  aim  to  tyrannize.  Such  are  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Pope  in  all  his  numerous  and  unfair  ordi- 
nances  regarding  prayer,   fasts,  etc. 

[Doctor  Martin  lias  indeed  explained  this  point,  either  in  tliis 
or  in  some  other  book,  as  referring  to  Christian  liberty.] 

11.  (Fol.  22. >  He  says  that  nobody,  not  even  an  angel,  lias 
a  right  to  impose  laws  on  Christians,  except  with  their  consent; 
for  we  are  free  in  all  things.  However,  if  laws  are  imposed,  we 
may  suffer  it  to  be  done,  but  must  know  and  assert  our  Hberty 
of  conscience  and  declare  that  wrong  is  being  done  us,  lest  we 
excuse  the  tyrants   (or  fail  to  protest  against  tyranny). 

[At  this  point  he  asked  how  old  Doctor  Martin  was,  and 
when  I  answered,  "About  thirty-eight  years,"  he  was  surprised 
and  sighed. 

'  He  also  said,  if  this  opinion  stood,  even  tlie  Emperor  could 
not  issue  laws. 

St.  Paul  likewise  says  :  "Stand ;  1)e  not  entangled  again  with 
the  yoke  of  bondage."] •"•f*"'^ 

12.  (Ibid.)  He  says  that  the  papacy  is  a  Babylonian  and 
antichristian  contrivance. 

[When  he  read  this  article,  he  did  not  want  to  let  it  stand 
among  the  other  articles,  and  said  :  "I  shall  advise  Alartin  not 
to  come  to  Rome.  I  shall  fast  fifty  days  if  this  can  be  estab- 
lished." Then  he  asked  whether  Doctor  Martin  acknowledged 
this  book  as  his. 

Nota.  Alas,  it  is  too  manifest  what  the  character  of  the 
Papacy  is.  and  yet  it  may  be  better  (than  it  scem^).  (?)  Rap- 
tista  Mantuanus  wrote  many  years  ago:  "Depart,  ye  that  wish 
to  lead  holy  lives;  while  all  things  are  permitted  at  Rome,  it  is 
not  permitted  to  be  good."  Again:  "When  Rome  gives  some- 
thing, it  gives  a  cheat;  it  receives  gold,  and  gives  words." [ 

13.  (Fol.  24.)  Would  to  God  that  1  could  i)ersuade  all  men 
either  to  avoid  or  to  abolish  all  vows,  whether  they  relate  to  the 
spiritual  orders,  or  pilgrimages,  or  other  works. 

[Everybody  ought  to  consider  what  good  it  does  him  to  bur- 
den himself  with  vows.] 

14.  (Fol.  24.)  Likewise,  there  ought  to  be  a  general  proc- 
lamation made  that  all  vows,  and  especially  those  that  are  cter- 
nallv  binding,  should  either  be  abolished,  and  men  disengaged 
from  them,  or  an  earnest  admonition  should  be  issued  that  no 
one  is  to  1)ind   himself   rashly  by  a  vow,  nor  induce  others  to 


505)   Gal.  5,   1. 

DAU,    TKIDUN.XL    uV    CAtSAU.  16 


242    glapion's  exceptions  to  luther's  Babylonian  captivity. 

take  a  vow,  and  that  dispensation  from  a  (true)  vow  be  given 
reluctantly. 

[At  this  point  he  said:  "Doleo;"  that  is,  "I  am  sorry."506) 
Again  :  "Eheu,  pcssimc  dixit,"  that  is,  "Oh,  that  is  a  very  bad 
statement." 

It  would  indeed  be  much  better  not  to  make  a  vow  than  not 
to  keeo  one  that  has  been  made.  Scripture  says :  "Vow,  and 
pay."]-'50') 

15.  (Fol.  25.)  First,  because  it  militates  greatly  against  a 
Christian  life.  To  be  sure,  a  vow  is  a  ceremonial  ordinance  and 
a  human  invention  or  presumption,  from  which  the  Christian 
Church  has  been  freed  by  Baptism.  For  the  Christian  is  not 
obliged  to  obey  any  but  the  divine  laws.  Moreover,  there  is  no 
instance  found  in  Scripture  of  a  person  vowing  perpetual  chastity 
or  obedience. 

[Here  he  said  that  by  these  statements  Doctor  Martin  had 
caused  many  monks  and  nuns  to  cast  aside  their  garments,  go 
back  to  secular  life,  and  lead  the  most  wicked,  profligate,  and 
unchaste  lives. 

Aye,  we  have  undoubtedly  vowed  more  in  Baptism  than  we 
have  been  able  to  keep.  Moreover,  it  is  well  known  how  vows 
have  been  treated,  how  people  were  dispensed  from  them,  how 
they   \\ere  commuted,   abrogated,   etc.] 

16.  (Tbid.j  Accordingly,  I  advise  all  prelates  to  abolish  or 
not  to  sanction  and  extol  all  such  vows  and  modes  of  life.  But 
if  they  will  not  do  this,  I  advise  all  who  wish  to  be  saved  to 
abstain  from  all  such  vows,  especially  from  such  as  are  serious 
and  perpetually  binding. 

[This  is  an  advice,  and  no  definite  ruling.  Even  jurists  say: 
Nol)ody  is  held  by  an  advice,  except  fraudulently.] 

17.  (Tl)id.)  Accordingly,  I  advise  no  one  to  enter  a  spiritual 
order  or  the  priesthood ;  yea,  T  advise  everybody  against  it,  unless 
he  has  previously  1)een  confirmed  in  the  conviction  that  in  the 
eyes  of  God  all  the  works  of  monks -and  priests  are  not  distin- 
guished above  those  of  the  peasants  that  till  our  fields  and  farms, 
and  that  God  measures  all  actions  only  by  faith. 

[Perhaps  he  meant  this  advice  to  express  what  David  says: 
"Thou  shalt,  destroy  them"  -""'OS)  likewise  St.  John :  "Grace  for 
grace"  i-'^o^)  likewise  Christ:    "This  grace  is  everlasting  life."]  ^i<^) 

1<S.  (Fol.  28.)  Therefore  there  will  never  be  a  vow  that  is 
certain. 


506)  Tn  the  Latin  text  this  remark  is  given  under  No.  13. 

507)  Ps.  76,  11. 

508)  Ps.  5,  6. 

509)  John  1,   16. 

510)  John  17,  3. 


GLAPION's  exceptions,  to  LUTIIER's   BABYLONIAN   CAPTIVITY.      243 

[This  article  he  at  first  read  with  the  rest,  hut  afterwanls 
struck  it  out.] 

19.  (Fol.  29.)  How  much  more  will  it  he  true  that  sins  arc 
forgiven  by  one  Christian  brother  to  another,  who  of  his  own 
accord  has  come  to  make  confession;  so  that  it  is  not  necessary, 
as  they  gabble,  to  recite  your  sins  to  prelates  and  priests. 

[St.  Augustine,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
says :  "If  the  Lord  gave  the  keys  to  St.  Peter  alone,  the  Chris- 
tian Church  has  them  not."] 

20.  (Ibid.)  Accordingly,  I  have  no  doubt  that  all  those  have 
been  absolved  from  their  ])rivate  sins  wluj  have  either  made  their 
confession  to  some  other  Christian,  or  after  receiving  their  pun- 
ishment and  warning  have  asked  for  grace  and  forgiveness,  and 
have  made  amends.  Let  the  popes  and  bishops  with  their  might 
rise  against  this  truth  as  much  as  they  please  :  the  Lord  Christ 
has  plainly  given  to  all  Christians  the  power  to  absolve  from 
sins, 

[Have  not  our  owm  preachers  said  heretofore  that  in  an 
emergency  confession  may  be  made  to  laymen,  women,  even  to 
a  tree?] 

21.  (Ibid.)  Therefore  they  must  permit  and  grant  every- 
body entire  lil)erty  to  make  confession  of  private  sin;;,  whenever 
they  please,  to  any  Christian  brother  or  sister,  to  bewail  one's 
sins,  and  to  ask  and  seek  from  the  lips  of  one's  neighbor  for- 
giveness and  comfort,  that  is,  the  word  of  the  Lord  Christ. 

[Here  he  said:     This  article  the  women  w'ill  praise. 

Aye,  in  Matt.  18  and  John  20  Christ  says  to  all  disciples 
jointly  that  "whosesoever  sins  they  remit,  they  shall  be  remitted 
unto  them,"-''!^)  and  in  Matt.  16  St.  Peter  alone  answers  the  Lord, 
however,  in  behalf  of  all  the  disciples.] -''i-) 

22.  (Ibid J  I  should  advise  that  all  attending  circumstances 
be  set  aside  and  disregarded;  for  among  Christians  there  is  one 
circumstance  only  that  must  be  considered,  ric,  that  a  brother  or 
sister  has  sinned. 

[Verily,  many  people  have  complained  and  are  still  complain- 
ing about  the  extensive  enumeration  of  details  that  is  demanded 
in  the  confessional.  Whether  all  this  is  good  deserves  to  be 
considered.] 

23.  (Fol.  30.)  However,  we  are  now  looking  for  those 
sacraments  only  which  dod  has  instituted.  Now,  we  have  no 
reason  to  number  confirmation  among  tliem. 

[Here  he  said:  Luther  gives  evidence  that  he  is  a  wonder- 
fully profound  and  deeply  leanierl  man.     ]\v  has  opened  tlie  door 


511)  Matt.   18,   IS;  John   20.  2.".. 

512)  Matt.   16,   10. 


244    glapion's  exceptions,  to  luther's  Babylonian  captivity. 

to  many  good  things.  I  believe  that  the  devil  has  thrown  in  this 
point  to  hinder  the  good  work  begun,  in  order  that  the  good  seed 
that  was  sown  might  not  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

Luther  has  said  many  good  things,  which  might  have  been  of 
service  to  the  world  against  Roman  abuses.  For  I  also  believe 
that  the  Romans  have  had  many  thoughts  in  their  hearts  which 
they  have  not  expressed  to  us ;  but  they  are  looking  on.  I  do  not 
want  to  be  understood  as  speaking  against  the  decrees  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  people  may  understand  this  and  a  few 
other  articles  differently  from  what  Doctor  Martin  says  in  his 
writings,  and  that  he  is  speaking  of  divine,  not  human,  authority.] 

24.  (Fol.  33.)  Since  St.  Paul  did  not  know  the  kind  of 
priests  and  orders  that  we  have  nowadays,  God  grant  that  these 
cursed  inventions  and  traditions  of  men  may  perish,  since  they 
have  been  sneaked  into  the  Christian  Church  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  multiply  our  dangers. 

[Here  he  said:     The  devil  inspired  him  to  write  that. 

Yes,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  Paul  not  only  did  not  know  the 
monks,  who  did  not  exist  at  his  time,  but  also  that  he  did  not 
know  the  priests  in  many  of  their  other  doings.] 

25.  (Ibid.)  The  situation,  then,  is  hopeless;  for  if  the  Gos- 
pel is  liberty  reestablished,  as  Martin  calls  it,  all  laws  of  all  men 
would  at  one  stroke  be  canceled  and  abrogated,  and  we  ourselves 
would  judge  and  decide  all  matters. 

Accordingly,  he  dares  even  to  deny  the  emperor's  authority 
and  rule,  so  that  we  would  be  without  emperor  and  ruler, 

[This  would  not  be  bad,  if  the  holy  Gospel  were  observed; 
that,  with  the  other  divine  books,  would  be  law  enough.  Thus 
Paul,  too,  in  First  Corinthians  writes  that  the  lowliest  are  to  sit 
in  judgment.-"*^")  So  thoroughly  Doctor  Martin  insists  on  the 
Gospel,  and  that  he  does  not  despise  imperial  or  any  other  au- 
thority he  shows  in  many  places.] 

26.  (Fol.  35  f.)  He  speaks  of  the  indissolul)ility  of  mar- 
riage, which  has  been  ordained  for  equable  reasons,  and  of  the 
husband  who  divorces  his  wife  on  account  of  adultery,  touching 
on  many  questions  in  a  way  that  is  not  plain  and  rendering 
doubtful  what  is  now  certain. 

Likewise,  he  says  that  when  a  person  is  divorced  from  his 
wife,  he  may  take  another  wife.-'"'!'*) 

[Aye,  this  is  a  matter  that  may  be  recklessly  handled  ;  for 
that  reason  there  mav  be  need  of  a  reformation. 


513)  Cp.  1   Cor.  6,  3;  1,  28. 

514)  In   the-   Latin   text  tliis  is   No.   27. 


GLAPION's  exceptions   to  LUTIIER's  BABYLONIAN  CAPTIVITY.      245 

Does  not  St.  Paul  say:  "It  is  better  to  marry  than  to 
burn"?]f>ir») 

27.-''»iC)  (Ibid.;  Accordingly,  I  admit  that  ordination  or  con- 
secration of  priests  is  a  sacred  rite  and  custom,  many  of  which 
have  been  introduced  by  the  holy  fathers,  such  as  the  blessing 
of  water,  salt,  herbs,  wine. 

[Nothing  indeed  is  found  concerning  this  matter  in  the  iioly 
Gospel.] 

28.^''»i'^)  (Fol.  2>7.)  Luther  despises  the  treatise  of  Dionysius, 
entitled  The  Hierarchy. 

[This  is  for  Luther  to  answer.  It  is  said  that  it  is  not  even 
known  which  Dionysius  is  the  author  of  the  l)ook,  etc.] 

29.518)  (Fol.  39.)  Everybody  must  admit  that  we  are  all 
priests,  as  many  of  us  as  are  baptized ;  and  we  certainly  are. 

[It  is  indeed  asserted  that  he  has  stated  his  reason  for  this 
claim  in  some  of  his  books.  To  this  point  St.  Peter  writes  con- 
cerning all  Christians :  "Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal 
priesthood"  ;^i^)  likewise,  St.  Paul:  "In  the  Lord  there  is  neither 
Jew  nor  Greek,  neither  male  nor  female ;  for  ye  are  all  one  in  the 
Lord  Christ."] 520) 

30.r>2i)  (Fol.  39.)  Speaking  of  priests,  Luther  says:  What, 
then,  remains  in  you  that  is  not  also  in  a  layman,  except  your 
cowls  and  cassocks?  Oh,  what  a  miserable  priesthood  tliat  con- 
sists in  cowls  and  cassocks  ! 

[This  distinction  (between  priests  and  laymen)  is  certainly 
not  found  in  the  Gospel.] 

31.522)  (Ibid.)  Therefore  you  must  he  certain  of  this,  and 
everybody  must  know  that  all  Christians  are  equally  priests,  that 
is,  they  have  equally  all  power  as  regards  the  Word  and  the 
Sacraments. 

[Here  he  said  that  His  Imperial  Majesty  earnestly  wished  to 
bring  such  a  learned  man  back  to  the  bosom  of  Holy  Mother,  the 
Christian  Church,  and  that  he  would  be  graciously  received. 

On  this  passage :  "Do  not  touch  Mine  anointed"''"'2-"5)  St. 
Jerome  is  said  to  have  commented:  "All  those  were  anointed 
who  have  received  the  Holy  Spirit."] 


.")lij)  1  Cor.  7.  9. 

516)  No.  28  in  the  Latin  text. 

.517)  No.  29  in  the  Latin  text. 

518)  No.  :?0  in  the  Latin  text. 

519)  1   Pet.  2,  9. 

520)  Gal.  3.   18. 

521)  No.  31  in  tlie  Latin  text. 

522)  The   remainder   of   the   exceptions   are   not    nnmhered   in    tlie    Latin 
text. 

523)  Ps.   105,   15. 


246  LITANY. 

32.  (Fol.  41  ff.)  Martin  thinks  that  the  sacrament  of  ex- 
treme unction  is  a  spurious  sacrament,  a  ceremony  of  the  Church, 
ordained  by  the  Church,  not  by  God. 

[This  point  Doctor  Martin  explains  at  length.]  ^24) 
It  appears  from  this  memorandum  that  Glapion  merely 
indicated  in  most  instances  the  statements  of  Luther  with 
which  he  was  not  pleased.  The  critical  remarks  of  the 
Saxon  statesman  show  how  deeply  he  had  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  Luther's  teaching,  and  how  well  versed  he  was  in 
his  writings. 


IV.  Litany, 

That  Is,  A  Humble  Prayer  to  the  Triune  God  in  Behalf  of 

Germany, 

Delivered  in  a  certain  Famous  City  in  Germany,  on  Ash  Wednes- 
day, February  13,  1521. 

Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us ! 
Christ,  have  mercy  upon  us ! 
Lord  have  mercy  upon  us ! 

O  Christ,  hear  the  Germans ! 

O  Christ,  hear  the  Germans ! 
O  Lord  God,  heavenly  Father,  have  mercy  on  the  Germans ! 
O  God  the  Son,  Savior  of  the  world,  have  mercy  on  the  Germans ! 
O  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  mercy  on  the  Germans! 

O  Holy  Trinity  and  Divine  Unity,  have  mercy  on  the  Ger- 
mans ! 

Holy  Mary,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

Holy  Mother  of  God, 

Holy  Virgin  of  Virgins, 

Holy  Michael, 

Holy  Gabriel, 

Holy  Raphael,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

All  Holy  Angels  and  Archangels,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

All  Holy  Orders  of  Blessed  Spirits,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

Holy  John  the  Baptist,  pray  for  the  Germans  ! 

All  Holy  Patriarchs  and  Prophets,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 


524)    FNU,   T,   p.  37,   44. 


\ 


LITANY. 


247 


>  pray  for  the  Germans ! 


Holy  Peter, 

Holy  Paul, 

Holy  Andrew, 

Holy  James, 

Holy  John, 

Holy  Thomas    (Didymus,    not    Thomas 

Aquinas^, 
Holy  James, 
Holy  Philip, 
Holy  Bartholomew, 
Holy  Matthew, 
Holy  Simon, 
Holy  Thaddaeus, 
Holy  Matthias, 
Holy  Barnabas, 
Holy  Luke, 
Holy  Mark, 

All  Holy  Apostles  and  Evangelists,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

All  Holy  Disciples  of  the  Lord,  pray  for  the  Germans! 
All  Holy  Innocents,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

Holy  Stephen, 

Holy  Lawrence, 

Holy  Vincent, 

Holy  Fabian, 

Holy  Sebastian, 

Holy  Blasius, 
Holy  John  and  Paul,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 
Holy  Cosmas  and  Damian.  pray  for  the  Germans  ! 
Holy  Gervasius  and  Prothasius,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

All  Holy  Martyrs,  pray  for  the  Germans! 
Holy  Sylvester, 
Holy  Gregory, 
Holy  Martin, 
Holy  Augustine, 
Holy  Ambrose, 
Holy  Jerome, 
Holy  Nicholas, 
Holy  Louis, 
Holy  Julian, 

All  Holy  Bishops  and   Confessors    [who  were   few   in   nunibor], 

pray  for  the  Germans  ! 
All   Holy   Doctors    fcxcopting  our   new   thcologists,    for   we   arc 

addressing  only  the  holy],  pray  for  the  Germans! 


>pray  for  the  Germans ! 


>pray  for  the  Germans! 


248  LITANY.  ^ 

Holy  Benedict,  pra}^  for  the  Germans ! 

Holy  Francis,  pray  for  thy  successors  that  they  may  not  slan- 
der everybody ! 

Holy  Antony,  pray  for  the  Germans  ! 

Holy  Dominic,  pray  for  all  thy  monks,  especially  for  Hog- 
straten,  the  Inquisitors  of  Papal  Iniquity,  and  for  Sylvester 
Prierias,  the  very  foxy  trickster  of  the  Pope ! 

All  Holy  Monks  [except  the  scoundrels,  of  whom  there  is  an 
infinite  number],  pray  for  the  Germans! 

All  Holy  Priests,  and  Levites  [one  or  two  of  whom  we  occasion- 
ally meet  with  nowadays],  pray  for  the  Germans! 

Holy  Mary  Magdalene, 

Holy  Agnes, 

Holy  Lucia, 

Holy  Cecilia,  ^        i      /-  • 

Holy  Agatha,  ^^'^^  ^°^  ^^^  Germans  I 

Holy  Catherine, 

Holy  Clara, 

Holy  Elizabeth, 

All  Holy  Virgins  and  Widows,  pray  for  the  Germans ! 

All  Male  and  Female  Saints,  come  to  the  aid  of  the  Germans 
with  your  intercessions  ! 

Good  Lord,  be  merciful,  and  spare  the  Germans  ! 
Good  Lord,  be  merciful,  and  hear  the  Germans ! 

From  all  calamities,  good  Lord,  preserve  the  Germans ! 
From  all  sins. 

From  Thy  wrath  and  displeasure, 
From  sudden  death, 
From  the  tyranny  of  the  Pope, 

From  the  wiles  and  frauds  of  the  devil  and  the  Romanists,  good 
Lord,  preserve  the  Germans ! 

Keep  Aleander,  good  Lord,  from  hatred  and  jealousy  and  all 
wicked  plotting ! 

From  papal  indulgences. 

From  the  misbelief  and  practises  of  the  monks,  good  Lord,  pre- 
serve the  Germans! 
From  godless  courtiers,  good  Lord,  purge  the  Germans ! 
From  the  spirit  of  whoredom,  good  Lord,  save  the  Romanists! 
From  lightning  and  tempest, 
From  eternal  death, 
From  false  prophets   [also  called  pseudo-theologians], 


LITANY.  '  249 

From  those  who  come  to  us  in  sheep's  clothing  [while  inwardly 
they  are  ravening  wolves,  bawds,  and  incarnate  tricksters], 
good  Lord,  preserve  the  Germans ! 

From  the  terrible  threats,  bulls,  and  thunderbohs  of  the  Popes, 

good  Lord,  protect  the  Germans ! 
Against  the  insatiable  greed  of  the  Romanists  lock  your  cliests, 

ye  Germans,  and  open  your  eyes ! 
By  the  living  God  !     Aleander  intends  no  good  ! 

From  the  scorn  of  the  sophists,  good  Lord,  turn  our  cars ! 
From  all  godless  and  heretical  teaching,   good   Lord,  purge  the 

schools  ! 
From  unspiritual  questions,  good  Lord,  preserve  the  theologians ! 
From    all   evil    suspicions    against    Luther,    good    Lord,    free   the 

minds  of  the  great ! 
From  all  barbarity,  good  Lord,  deliver  the  chairs  of  professors ! 
From  the  yoke  of  Roman  dominion,  good  Lord,  deliver  the  Ger- 


mans 


From  the  pallia  that  they  have  to  buy  at  Rome,  good  Lord,  de- 
liver the  Bishops ! 

From  annates,  good  Lord,  deliver  Germany! 

From  all  rage,  good  Lord,  ease  Aleander! 

From  wicked  and  evil-intentioned  counselors,  good  Lord,  save 
Charles ! 

By  the  mystery  of  Thy  holy  incarnation, 
By  Thv  advent, 
By  Thy  birth. 

By  Thy  baptism  and  holy  fast, 
By  Thy  cross  and  suffering. 
By  Thy  death  and  burial, 
By  Thy  holy  resurrection, 
By  Thy  miraculous  ascension. 

By  the  coming  of  the  Comforter,  the   Holy   Spirit,   good   Lord, 
help  the  Germans ! 
On  the  last  day,  good  Lord,  help  the  Germans! 

We  Germans  pray : 
That  Thou  wouldst  hear  us; 
That  Thou  wouldst  spare  us ; 
That  Thou  wouldst  be  gracious  unto  us ; 
That  Thou  wouldst  lead  us  to  true  repentance; 
That  Thou  wouldst  govern  and  preserve  Thy  Holy  Church   [not 

the  Roman  one]  ; 
That  Thou  wouldst  preserve  in  the  holy  faith  the  apostolic  lord 
[not  him   who  arrogates  to  himself  the  dominion   of  the 


250  LITANY. 

world]  and  all  spiritual  orders  [of  whom  there  are  none 
in  our  time,  since  we  hardly  know  of  any  such  as  existed 
in  the  old  Church]  ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  grant  peace  and  true  concord  to  the  com- 
monwealth and  all  Christian  princes ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  stablish  and  keep  us  Germans  in  Thy  holy 
service ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  excite  in  our  hearts  a  yearning  for  heaven ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  protect  Martin  Luther,  the  unconquerable 
pillar  of  Christian  truth,^--'*)  now  that  he  is  soon  to  arrive 
at  Worms,  against  all  Venetian  poison,  and  preserve  him ! 

That  Thou  wouldst  once  more  redeem  from  hell  the  souls  which 
the  scholastic  theologians  by  their  vapid  preaching  have 
led  astray; 

That  Thou  wouldst  bring  the  scholastic  teachers  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  exterminate  yon  wicked  theologians ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  hurl  from  the  pulpits  the  preachers  that 
teach  what  is  unbecoming; 

That  Thou  wouldst  quench  the  rage  of  Leo  X; 

That  Thou  wouldst  forever  preserve  the  brave  German  knight, 
Ulrich  von  Hutten,  Luther's  intimate  friend,  and  speed 
him  in  his  good  purpose  and  in  the  enterprise  in  Luther's 
behalf  in  which  he  is  engaged; 

That  Thou  wouldst  teach  the  king's  father  confessor  (Glapion), 
who  is  very  much  against  Luther,  to  know  better ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  not  suffer  Thyself,  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  after 
being  crucified  once,  to  be  crucified  again  by  godless  Chris- 
tians ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  consume  with  fire  the  houses  of  some  theo- 
logians that  have  been  turned  into  brothels ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  restore  to  priests  who  are  polluting  them- 
selves by  illicit  cohabitation  the  ancient  privilege  of  be- 
coming married ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  deliver  Aleander  from  his  mad  frenzy; 

That  Thou  wouldst  powerfully  touch  from  above  the  apostolic 
nuncios  who  are  dealing  unjustly  against  Martin  Luther 
with  the  princes  gathered  at  Worms  from  all  parts ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  cause  Martin  Luther,  who  already  has  been 
condemned  without  cause  and  without  a  hearing,  to  be- 
come alive  again  in  the  hearts  of  the  godly ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  grant  to  the  German  princes,  assembled  at 
this  time  at  Worms,  Thy  grace,  peace,  and  mercy; 


525)   This   shows  that   the   Litany   was   composed   after   March   6,   1521. 


Litany,  251 

That  Thou  woiildst  guard  Charles,  who  as  yet  docs  not  fully 
comprehend  the  important  matters  of  faith,  against  hasty 
judgments ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  do  good  forever  to  our  benefactors; 

That  Thou  wouldst  redeem  our  souls  from  eternal  damnation ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  convince  the  Italians,  Lombards,  and  Ro- 
manists that  Thou  art  the  true  God; 

That  Thou  wouldst  give  and  preserve  unto  us  the  fruits  of  the 
earth ; 

That  Thou  wouldst  grant  eternal  rest  to  those  who  have  died  in 
the  faith; 

And  that  Thou  wouldst  graciously  hear  us  Germans. 

Hear  us,  good  Lord  ! 

O  Son  of  God.  hear  us,  good  Lord ! 

O  Lamb  of  God  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  luivc 

merc}'  upon  us  I 
O  Lamb  of  God  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  hear 

us ! 
O  Lamb  of  God  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have 

mercy  upon  us ! 
O  Christ,  hear  us  ! 
O  Christ,  hear  us  ! 

Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us ! 
Christ,  have  mercy  upon  us ! 
Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us  ! 

Our  Father,  etc.    And  lead  us  not  into  temptation. 

Psalm. 

Make  haste,  O  God,  to  deliver  us  Germans ! 

Lord,  haste  Thee  to  help  us ! 

Let  them  be  confounded  and  put  to  shame  that  seek  after  the 
souls  of  us  Germans  : 

Let  them  be  turned  back  and  brought  to  confusion  that  devise 
our  hurt. 

Let  them  speedily  be  put  to  shame  tliat  say  unto  us.  Aha.  aha ! 

Let  all  Germans  rejoice  and  be  joyful,  and  those  that  care  for 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  and  love  Thy  sal- 
vation and  the  liberty  of  Germany,  let  them  say  forever- 
more:     Christ  be  magnified  ! 

But  Luther  is  poor  and  needy;  O  God,  hasten  to  help  him! 

Lord,  Thou  art  the  Helper  and  Savior  of  the  Germans,  make  no 
tarrying,  O  our  God  I 

Glory  be  to  the  Father,  etc. 


252  LITANY. 

Prayer. 

My  God,  save  us  Germans,  Thy  servants  that  trust  in  Thee. 

Lord,  be  unto  us  a  strong  fortress  before  the  face  of  our 
Roman  enemies. 

Let  not  our  enemy  ride  prosperously  in  Germany,  and  let  the 
son  of  iniquity  toil  in  vain  to  harm  us. 

Lord,  deal  not  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  reward  us  accord- 
ing to  our  iniquities. 

Let  the  Romanists  ever  pray  for  their  Pope ; 

Lord,  do  Thou  hurl  him  from  his  evil  scat;  bruise  his  head. 
And  let  him  that  has  made  himself  a  god  and  lord  of  all  the 
earth  be  the  Beelzebub,  and  remain  so  forever,     Amen. 

My  God,  help  us  Germans,  for  we  trust  in  Thee. 

Lord,  send  us  help  from  the  sanctuary,  and  strengthen  us  out 
of  Zion. 

Lord,  hear  my  prayer,  and  let  my  crying  come  before  Thee. 

Prayer  for  the  Roman  Church. 

Let  us  pray : 

Lord,  who  art  ever  gracious  and  merciful,  receive  our  prayer 
and  hear  us  Germans,  who  humbly  implore  Thee  for  the  well- 
being  of  the  Romanists.  Be  pleased  to  enlighten  their  hearts, 
remove  from  them  blindness  and  ignorance,  and  convince  them 
that  eternal  punishments  are  prepared  for  men  after  this  life, 
and  that,  with  the  lasciviousness  and  conceit  which  are  rampant 
among  them,  and  which  are  diametrically  opposed  to  the  Gospel, 
they  cannot  possibly  be  saved ;  in  order  that  with  all  the  more 
fervor  they  may  honor,  fear,  and  love  Thee.  To  this  end  pluck  and 
banish  from  their  hearts  all  wickedness,  vice,  cunning,  deceitful- 
ness,  impieties,  abominations,  heresies,  blasphemies,  their  cursed 
greed,  their  unnatural  and  worse  than  bestial  lusts,  pride,  simony, 
and  the  blind  craving  which  fills  them  to  suck  dry  and  exhaust 
all  the  nations  under  the  sun.  Terminate  at  last  their  tyranny 
which  for  so  long  a  time  they  have  practised  without  restraint, 
and  have  extended  over  all  lands  and  nations.  As  to  themselves, 
however,  all  Germans  wish  from  their  hearts  that  they  may  be- 
come reconciled  with  Thee,  that  they  may  know  Thee,  the  true 
God.  and  Jesus  Christ,  the  Crucified,  that  they  may  follow  Thee, 
and  through  Him  may  become  worthy  to  enter  into  the  endless 
joy  of  beholding  Him  in  bliss   forevermore. 


LITANY.  253 

Prayer  for  Emteror  Charles. 

Almighty  and  merciful  God,  vouchsafe  unto  <nir  Emperor 
Charles  Thy  grace  that,  disdaining  to  listen  to  the  adulations  and 
flatteries  of  the  Romanists  and  the  Cardinals,  he  may  with  rigor 
abolish  the  disorder,  vanity,  carnal  lust  and  voluptuousness  that 
has  spread  far  and  wide  throughout  the  Church,  to  the  honor  of 
Thy  name  and  to  the  advantage  of  the  ministry  of  Thy  Word 
and  of  all  believing  Christians;  to  the  end  that  in  Thy  Church, 
which  for  so  many  years  has  been  in  the  utmost  decay,  we  may 
again  begin,  after  the  example  of  our  ancestors,  to  lead  a  godly 
life ;  for  the  sake  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  etc'''-^) 


V.  Passionary  of  Christ  and  Antichrist. 

Published  about  the  middle  of  May,   l.")21. 
With  an  Epilog'  by  Luther.  527) 

The  reproductions  on  the  following  pages  are  from  the  St.  Louis 
Edition  of  Luther's  Works,  and  embody  the  researches  of  the  etli- 
tor,  Dr.  Hoppe.  The  references  below  the  pictures  are  given  in  full 
in  the  original;  they  had  to  be  condensed  for  this  reprint  for  lack 
of  space.  The  Latin  references  \mder  the  views  of  the  papacy  are 
from  the  Canon  Law  and  pajjul  breves. 

The  German  version  of  this  publication  was  clioscn  for  this 
reproduction  because  that  was  tlie  most  popular  in  Luther's  time. 
The  original  German  inscriptions  at  the  head  of  each  picture  have 
been  retained;  for  no  translation  could  do  justice  to  their  style 
and  sentiment. 

The  Passionary  was  not  an  original  thought  in  Luther's  time; 
W'velif  and  Huss  had  attempted  a  similar  juxtaposition  of  Christ 
and  Antichrist.  ]5ut  this  e/lort,  which  was  published  while  Lutiier 
was  at  Worms,  sur})asses  preceding  elVorts  in  claltorateness  and 
comprehensiveness.  Probably  the  most  famous  edition  of  the  Pas- 
sionary is  that  by  Hofmann.  prepared  during  the  l\  uKiirkdinpf 
of  the  German  Empire.  Emperor  William  I  sent  a  eiijiy  of  li<»f- 
mann's  edition   1(»  the   IN)])*'. 


52G)    XV,   1829— 3o. 
527)  XIV,  186—250, 


254 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 

Christus  fioh  das  irdisch'  Kich  — 


1, 

Christus. 
Joh.  6,  15;    18,36.     Luc.  22,  25  f. 


PASSIONAKY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 

und  Antichristi. 

Nun  zieht's  der  Papst  mit  G'walt  an  sick. 


25( 


2. 

Antichristus. 
Clemens  Pastor,  tit.  11,  c.  2.   (111,214.)    2  Petr.  2,  1.  10. 


25G 


PASSIONARY  OP   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 


Passional  Christi 
Christo  eine  Dornenhrone  man  bereit't 


Joh.  19,  2. 


PARRIONATIY  OF   CTTRTRT   AND   AXTTCnRTST. 

und  Antichrist!. 

Von   Gold  (lor  Papst  droi   Kronen  trt\vt. 


257 


Antichristus. 
C.  Conatantinus  OG.  Dist.  [c.  1:{J-   ( f-  '-'•'''' 

DAU,  TRIBUNAL  OF   CAESAR. 


258 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 


Passional  Christi 
Der  HErr  Hire  Fuess'  den  Juenc'ern  wuscli 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  AM'ICUKIST.  259 

und  Antichristi. 
Dem  Papst  sein'  Fuoss'  iiuni  kuessen  muss. 


Offenb.  13,  15.    C.  cum  olim  tlo  pri.  cle.   (111,605.) 
Si  summu3  pont.  etc.    (111,202.) 


260  PASSIONABY  OF   CHRIST   AND  ANTICHRIST, 

Passional  Christi 

Selbst  Zins  imd  Zoll  der  HErr  liat  gehen  — 


7. 

Christus. 
Matth.  17,  27.     Rom.  13,  4.  6.  7. 


PASSION AKY  OF   CUlilST   AND  ANTICIIUIST.  2G1 

und  Antichristi. 
Des  will  ganz  frel  der  Papst  jetzt  leben. 


8. 

Antichristus. 
C.  1.  immuiiit.  cccl.,  lib.  C.   (Ill,  125.) 


262  PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND   ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 
Christus  in  Demut  wolint  bei  den  Armen 


Christus. 
Phil.  2,  6—8. 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST.  203 

und  Antichristi. 
Des  schaemt  sicli  der  Papst,  das  ist  zu  erbarmen. 


iU. 

Antichristus. 
C.  quando  [c.  4]  8G.  Dist.   (I,  250.) 


204  PASSIONARY  OF  CHRIST  AND  ANflCHMST. 

Passional  Christi 
Oft  Christum  das  Kreuz  zur  Erden  druecld 


11. 

Christus. 
Joh.  4,  6.     Matth.  IG,  24.     Joh.  10,  17, 


PASSIONABY  OF   CUUIST   AND   AMICIIUIST. 

und  Antichristi. 
Hie  laesst  sicli  t  rag  en  der  Papst  geschmueckt. 


2G5 


12. 

Antichristus. 
Siquid  suadcntc.    (111,250.) 


2G6  PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 

Christus  hat  selbst  sein  Schaeflein  geweid't 


13. 

Christus. 
Luc.  4,  43.  44. 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST   AND   ANTICHRIST.  267 

und  Antichristi. 
In  Wollust  lobt  dicscr  und  Uepjngl'elt. 


11. 

Antichristus. 
C.  Inter  caotcra  dc  olT.  onliiuiiKl.    (IT.  ir»."i.)     .Ics.  'yC*.  12. 


268 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND   ANTICHRIST. 


Passional  Christi 

In  Armut  mid  Fried'  ward  Christus  geboren 


15, 

Christus. 
Luc.  9,  58.     2  Cor.  8,  !). 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST   AND   ANTICHRIST. 


200 


iind  Antichristi. 

Zii    /\'ric(/    iiiid    llojjitil   (liT    l*;ii>sl    crkoi'cii. 


Hi 


Antichristus. 

If),  q.  0.  c.  Auctoritat.   (I,(ir)0.)    2:{.  (|.  T).  c.  (tnmiiini 
•  I    S;    (•    Oiniii    (1.  s-2;{.) 


270  PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 
Sanftmuetig  der  HErr  kam  geritten- 


17. 

Christus. 
Matth.  21,  5.     Joh.  12,  15. 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST   AND   ANTICHRIST. 

imd  Antichrist!. 
Der  Papst  in  II  off  art  unci  stolzcn  Sittcu. 


271 


IS. 

Antichristus. 
Duo;    12.  q.   (I,  580.)    C.  Constantin.  'Mi.  \Ji>X.  Le.  14. J    (I,  li'.'o. ; 


272  PASSION AKY  OF   CHRIST   AND   ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 
Christus  l-ein  Eigens  nocli  Goldes  bedurft'  — 


19. 

Christus. 
Matth.  10,  0.  10.     Ap.  Gesch.  3.  G. 


PASSIOJVAKY  OF   ClIKIST  AND   AMlCllUlST.  2/o 

und  Antichristi. 
Alle  Land'  der  Papst  sicli  unterwuvft. 


80.  Dist.  c.  Episcopi.   (1,244.)     70.  Dist.  Sanctorum.    (1,224.) 

DAU,  TUIUUNAL  OF  CAESAU.  18 


274  PASSIONAEY  OF  CHBIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 

Christus  nichts  hielt  auf  aeusserliche  Berden 


21. 

Christus. 
Luc.  17,  20.  21.     Matth.  15,  3.  9.     Jes.  29,  13 


PASSIONARY  OF   CIIRTST   AND   ANTICHRIST.  275 

und  Antichrist!. 
Das  hat  ganz  umgewandi  dci-  ]^lllst  ulf  Erdon. 


oo 


Antichristus. 
1  Tim.  4,  1— .3. 


27G 


PAS  SIGN  AEY  OF  CHRIST  AND  ANTICHRIST. 


Passional  Christi 
Die  Wucherer  Christus  austreiht  vom  Tempel  seiii 


23. 

Christus. 
.Toll.  2,  14—10.     Matth.  10,  S.     Ap.  Goscli.  8,  20. 


PASSIONARY  OF  CIiniST  AND   ANTICHRIST. 


277 


iind  Antichristi. 
Mit  Bullen,  Bannbriefen  zwiiijj;t  aie  der  Papst  wied'r  hinvin. 


2  Thess.  2.  4.    Dan.  11.  .10  i\.    C.  Sic  omnis.  Dist.  I'.i.  (  I.  .'.(i. ) 
17.  <i.  4.  ('.  Ncinini.   (I,  7H».) 


^78 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST   AND   ANTICHRIST. 

Passional  Christi 
Christus  ujfsteigt  uss  dieser  Welt  — 

Hi! 


25. 

Christus. 
Ap.  Gosch.  1,  9.  11.     Liic.  1,  33.     Joh.  12,  2G. 


PASSIONARY  OF   CHRIST  AND   ANTICHRIST. 


270 


imd  Antichristi. 
In  Abgrund  hinab  der  Papst  facllt. 


Antichristus. 
Offcnb.  1!>,  20.  21.     2  Thcss.  2,  8. 


INDEX. 


Aciinna,  Bishop,  30.   141. 

Adalbert,  Bishop,  2;J3. 

Adt'lmaiiii,  5.  31. 

Adrian,  Pope,  3<).  4"). 

Adrian,  Matth..  SO. 

Aonoas  Sylvius,  24. 

Aoricohi,  l\ud.  von,  23'). 

Aix,  34.  r)4.  7"). 

Alba,  73.   221. 

Albert  IT,  lunperor,  44. 

Albert,  Arehbishop,  f).  S.  11.   10. 

23  f.   50.   57  f.    122.    12().    120. 

131.  13S.  172.  175.  ISO.  ISS. 
Albreeht,  Duke,  (Wl. 
Alciati,  15. 
Aleander,  5.  S.  11.  14  f.  17  f.  20. 

23  tr.  31  i\'.  34.  3S.  45.  47  tV.  73. 

02.  101.  107.  110  ti\  130.  132  f. 

136  f.   145  ff.   150  f.   1S3.   1S5. 

100  f.   105.   100  f.  201  iX.  205. 

200  f.  248  f. 
Alexander,   110. 
Al^arbia,  71. 
Alplionsc  of  Castile,  227. 
A I  veld,  5  f. 
Anierbaeli,    15. 
Ameriea,  13. 

Antiehrist,  2  f.    100.  200.   254  IT. 
Appeal,  4. 
Ariovist,  231. 
Aristoeraey.  225. 
•Arius,  24. 

Armstorf,  von,  3."{.   lS5(r. 
Arnoldi,   170. 
Atonement,  170  f. 
Attire,  electoral,  22S. 
Aujiustiiiians.    140. 
Austria,  231. 

Baden,   14. 

Balan,  Pietro,  50.  201. 

Banisius.   120. 

Baptism,  3. 

Baptista  ^Mantuanus,  241. 

Barbara,  Queen,  43  f. 

Basle,  Council  of,  40. 


Bavaria,  Kinp;  and  Dukes  of.  5. 

31.  07  f.  72.  143.  22S. 
Bernard,  St.,  lo:'.. 
Berthold.   Fran/   \<iii    I'ltr^lirirn. 

235. 
Beskau.  SS. 
Ucsslcr,  111. 
I'ililc,     intci|)rc1  ;i1  imi     nf.    70  f. 

S5  r.   HIO. 
nis<-hofsln)t\    10.    121.    I!i7  I".  230. 
Bishop,  S4. 
Bo<fislav  X.   Dnkr,  07. 
Bohemia,  Kiiii,^  of,  227  f. 
Bononio,     i{ish(tj),    4S.     ')7).     lOl. 

12i>.  130. 
Brandenburti,  Martfiavc  of,  227. 
Brueck,  50.  02  If.   122.    12!i.    1:!2. 

155.  1S3  f.  104.  23SfT. 
Brunhilde,  232. 

Bucer,    10  f.  20.   1S5  IV.    iSS.   2(10. 
JiiirrgcrJiof,  23(5. 
Bull,  Golden.  22S  f. 
Bulls,  2. 

l^urchanl.  Bishop,  235  f. 
liur^undian  Kini^s,  231. 
Hut/bach.  70  f. 

Caesaro|)apism,  2(t. 

Cajetan,  2.  5(1.  KM.  107. 

Caivin,   101. 

(Uimpiis  Marlii  and  Mnii,  224  f. 

Canon    Law,   125.  13(;.  240. 

Capito.   11.  24.  31. 

Capitulations,  220. 

Caraccioli,   S.   32.   47.    1<»1.    137. 

130  f.   147.   1!»5.  21(1. 
Cardinal's  hat,  5. 
Carondelet ,  .I(»hn  dc  .Xrdilii-liop. 

52. 
CaTlstadt,  3S.  SS. 
Casimir,  Margrave,  73. 
Catharinus,  103.  107.  104  f. 
C'i'ltes,  Conrad,  235. 
Charlemagne,  20.  232. 
Charb's  the  I?old,  124. 
("harles   IV,  22S. 


282 


INDEX. 


Charles  V,  3.   15.   10.   23.  28  ff. 

44  ff.  71.  144.  149.  151  f.  101. 

200  ff.  217  ff.  251.  253. 
Chastity,  vow  of  (celibacy) ,  100. 

241  f." 
Chievres,  42.  45  ff.  51  f.  55.  62. 

65.  93.   105.  123  f.   138  f.   185. 

200. 
Christ,    eternal    generation    of, 

239;  consiihstantialitv  of,  127. 
Church,  Christian,  87.  103.  165. 
Cicero,  9. 

Claude  de  France,  191. 
Clement  VII,  23. 
Clivanus,  10. 

Cochlaeiis,  128.  170.  183.  205. 
Coena  Domini,  127.  157  f. 
Cologne,   6.   9 ;     Archbishop   of, 

227. 
Commendam,  53. 
Comtnuneros,  62.  141. 
Confession,  243;    auricular,  81. 
Confirmation,  243. 
Constance,  Council  of,  125.  218  f. 
Cordatus,  149. 
Cortez,  69. 
Cranach,  168. 
Croy,    William    de,    35.    37.    39. 

62  ff.  104.  150. 
Curia,  1. 
Cuspinian,  208. 

Dagobert,  234. 

Dalberg,  John  III  von.  Bishop, 

233.  235. 
Deoet  Romanum,  23.  74.  lOS. 
Dene,  88. 

D'Este,  Ercole,  191. 
])e  Wette,  78. 
Diet,  German,  28  f.   224  ff . ;     of 

1521,  230. 
Diether,  Arcbbishoj),  235. 
Dionysius  Areop.,  126.  245. 
Doebeln,  7. 
Doering,  168. 
Dominicans,  6.  235. 
Draconites,  180. 
Drusus,  231. 

Ebernburg,  185. 

Eck,  1  f.  11.  13.  24.  38.  174;  Eck 

of  Treves,  197.  200  f.  203.  209. 

211  f.  217  ff. 


Eckart  von  Ders,  Bishop,  233. 
Einsiedeln,  Heinrich  von,  153. 
Eisenach,  182. 
Electors,  the  seven,  227. 
Emerich  von  Schoeneck,  Bishop, 

233. 
Empire,  Holv  Roman,  226. 
Emser,  6.  74".  85. 
Enders,  88. 
Erasmus,  8.   10.    13.   15.  31.  38. 

62.  115  ff.  117.  180.  186  f. 
Erfurt,  53  f.  143.   173  i\\ 
Eric,  Duke,  221. 
Erza em ter,  228. 
Eugene  IV,  Pope,  49. 
Excommunication,  4.  \ 

Exsurgc  Domine,  1.  19.  22  f.  45. 

96.  99.  108.  154. 


Faber,  8.  62  ff.  93.  150. 
Faith,   160  f.  163.  177.  240. 
Fanatics,  31. 
Feilitzsch,  Fabian  von,  78. 

Philip,  192. 
Feldkirchen,  38. 
Ferdinand  of  Austria,  198. 
Florence,  Council  of,  49.  87. 
Francis  I,  29  f.  70.  144. 
Franciscans,  6. 
Frankfort  a.  M.,  10.  45.  142. 
Franks,  the.  224  11*. 
Frederick,  Bishop,  233. 
Frederick,  Duke,  52. 
Frederick,  Elector,  1  f.  4.  10, 

19.  30  f.  33.  36  f.  40.  52  ff. 

67.    93.    113.    122.    128  f. 

144  f.  152.  15(>.  161.   171. 

190.  195.  203.  209.  222. 
Free  Avill,  76.  11!». 
Froben,  13. 

Frosch,  Catherine,  182. 
Frundsberg,  Georg  von,   198 
Fuerstenberg,  128.   131.  204 


90 


126. 


IS: 


,  16. 

58. 
132. 
184. 


f. 


Ganss,  9.  16  ff. 
Gambara,  130. 
Gattinara,  51.  59.  121.  134.  138. 

140.  155.  185.  195  f. 
George,  Duke,  30.  59.  132.  152. 

189. 
Gerlach  v.  Erbach,  Bishop,  233. 
Germany  in  Luther's  time,    17. 

101.  132.  144. 


INDEX. 


283 


Glapion,  18.  32.  30.  50.  02(1.  1.31. 

136.  138.  140.  ir>3.  isr>  nr.  loi. 

105  f.  200.  238  IT. 
Glarean,  5.  13. 
Glaubiirg.  183. 
Gniser,  170. 
Gocdo,  87. 
Gotha,  181. 
Grace,  Means  of.  240. 
Graessler,  171. 
dnifificti.zioni,  32.    107. 
Greek  Clnireli.  48  f.  12(;. 
Gre^^ory  VI 1.  234. 
Greiffeiiklau,  2.  41.  54.  12(i.  131. 

107. 
Grievances    of   German    Nation. 

142  11".   155.  212. 
Grisar,  27. 
Gnienenbcr<4,  220. 
Gnincns.  74. 
(iut'iitlicr.  I'lanz,  74. 
Gueiitlifj-.    Kin;y;,  232. 

Halherstaclt.  5. 

Hausniann,  01.   154. 

Haiisrath.   100.    123.    172  f.    182. 

1!)1.    105.   202.    210.   220.    235. 

237. 
Hcckmann.   1  15. 
Hcdio,  24. 
Heidelbertr.  34. 

Heisterhach.  C'aesarins  von,  237. 
Helt,  74.  00. 
Henrv  IV,  227.  233  f. 
Henr'v  V,  234. 

Henry  VIII.   lo.  45.  7(>.   144. 
Herl)ii)olensis,  85. 
Hess,   114. 

Hesse,  Koban.  174.   170. 
Hirschfcld.   PxMiiard  v..  05.   1S<I. 

102. 
Hoir,  00:     llfiiiianu  von.    170. 
Ho«;stratcn.   1  I . 
Hohenzollern.  3(i.   l.M  ll. 
Humanists,  31.  4(i.   174. 
Hiimmelberg,  1 15. 
Huns,  232. 
Huss  and  Hussites,  1.  20.  4.3.  70. 

125.  Iil4.  218.  235. 
Hutten,  10.  17  ll".  25.  33.  35.  40. 

65.  101.  113.  174.  185  ff.  206. 


Imjierial    Council    of    r!cr»naii\-, 

28.  227  11'. 
Indul<;ences,  75.   10;{.   127. 
Infalli])ility,  4. 
Innocent  IV,  5. 
Inquisition,  26.  120. 
Investitures,  233  f. 

Jansscn,   17. 

.b'rba,  71. 

Jerome,  St.,  25.  83;  of  Pra;;uc,  1. 

dews,  08.  124;    "^'odly,"  237. 

dessen,  Sebast.  and  Ficd  v.,  53. 

Joachim,  Elector,  60.  ]:',]  f.   134. 

141.  100. 
Jodocus,  55. 
Jolin,  Duke,  58  f.  <i7  f.    152.   150. 

158.  161  f.  172.  188  f. 
John  Frederick,  Duke.  5!l.    Kil. 
John,   Knitjhts   of    St.,    58.    ISO. 

236. 
John  XXII,  Pope,  233. 
Jonas,  87.  150.  173.  ISO.  200  f. 
Julich,  73. 
Julius  de  Medici    (see  ]\Iedici). 

Kiicldiertr.  Hartnnmn  von.   122. 
Kni<i:hls  Templar,  230. 
Koestlin.  220. 
Kottbus,  5. 
Kriendiilde.   2.32. 

Ladislaus,  43  f. 

Landsber<r,   1. 

Landstulil.   15. 

Lan<r.  Johann,  143.  154.  173.  176. 

I.an<r,  Cardinal.  47.  111.  113.  12!). 

132.   i:!(i  f.   138.    142. 
Lan<;er,  Johann,  171. 
Lateral!  (  ouncil,  25. 
Lavmen,  78  f.   10.3.   150.   107. 
Lea,  26. 
Lefevre,    116. 
Leipzig,  7.   171. 
Leo  X,  3.  8  f.  30.  3S.   145. 
Liberty,  Christian,  241.  244. 
Lindenau.  Alln-rt   von.   180. 
Link,  6.  20  f.  62.   III.    11.!.    lOL 
Litany,  (ierman,   14S.  216     253. 
Lord's  Suj)per,   156  f. 
Louis  the  German,  232. 


284 


INDEX. 


Lou  vain,  6.  74. 

Liidwig,  Dr.,  1)1. 

Lutlier,  his  "revoliitioiuirv  tac- 
tics," 17  f.  52.  125  f.;  "^inno- 
cence, 18.  20;  summons  to 
Worms,  25.  35.  37.  124 f.  146  f. 
151  f.;  motives,  61;  polemics, 
82 ;  simple  style,  84  f . ;  "pre- 
sumptuousness,"  77 ;  verv 
Imsv,  75.  81  f.  84.  01;  cour- 
age', 43  f.  60.  78.  112.  153.  194; 
recantation,  44.  46.  56.  1)4. 102. 
135  f.  153.  155  f.  11)6.  208.  218. 
222 ;  ceases  monk's  life,  74 ; 
rich,  00.  156;  on  marriage, 
48;  prayer  at  Worms,  103  f.; 
edict  against  liim,  25.  50.  57. 
105.  117.  120.  120  ff.  135.  137. 
142.  147.  140.  171.  102. 

Letters  to:  Spahitin,  5  f.  (>. 
16.  10  f.  42  ff.  62.  66  f.  74.  78. 
87.  88.  80.  00.  01.  153.  162. 
165.  184.  188;  Staupitz,  6.  13. 
20.  87.  112  f.;  Link,  6.  65.  74. 
80.  164  f.  166  f.;  Hutten,  20; 
Elector  Frederick,  50  f .  82  f . : 
Lang,  74.  156;  Feilitzsch, 
78  ff.;  Pellican,  81  f.;  Haus- 
mann,  01 ;  Duke  John,  163  f. ; 
Cranach,  160;  Cuspinian,  208. 

Writings :  New  Eckian 
Bulls  and  Lies,  1 ;  Adv.  exe- 
crab.  Antichr.  bullam,  2  ff. ; 
Wid.  d.  Bulle  d.  Endchrists, 
2  ff.  201;  (Expositio)  Asser- 
tio  omnium  articulorum,  4  f. 
44.  75  f.  113.  125.  165;  Magni- 
ficat, 5.  162  f.;  Babvlonian 
Captivity,  6.  48  f.  51.  04  ff. 
07  ff.  100  ff.  103  ff.  106  ff.  126. 
165.  201.  238  11'.;  Trotestatio 
u.  Erbieten,  15.  38.  41.  46.  51. 
60;  Appeal  to  Pope,  22;  to 
Council,  22 ;  Grund  und  Ur- 
sach,  44.  75  ff.  115.  201;  In- 
struction concerning  Confes- 
sion, 80  f. ;  Annotations  to 
Psalms,  81  f.;  Postil,  81  f  1. ; 
Reply  to  Emser,  85  f.  201; 
Bohemian  translation  of  his 
writings,     00;       Liberty     of 


Christian  Man,  102.  201 ;  Ap- 
peal to  Christian  Nobilitv, 
127.  161.  160.  201;  True  Wor- 
thiness of  Communicants, 
156;  Sermon  on  Good  ^Vorks, 
158  ff.;    on  Usury,  201. 

Lutherans,  24.  100.  115. 

Lyons,  Council  of,  5. 

Magdeburg,  5  f . 

^Magnates,  German,  225  f. 

Maimbourg,  160. 

Maler,  1. 

Manuel,  30.   145. 

Marck,  de  la,  Eberliard,  32.  35. 

46  f.  51.  123;    Pvol)ert,  147. 
]\largaret,   sister   of   Charles  V, 

3(). 
Marlian,  Bishop,  117. 
Marriage,  244. 

Mass,   100.  240;    canon  of,  230. 
Maurenbrecher,  17  f. 
Maximilian  I,  234.  238. 
Mayence,  6.  227. 
Mavr,   111. 
Medici,  5.  47  f.   02.    128.    137  ff. 

150;    Haphael  de  120.  130  f. 
Melanchthon,  78.  88.   113  f.  181. 
Merian,  235. 
Merovingians,  232. 
Merseburg,  6. 
Miltitz,   1  f.   101. 
Minkwitz,  104. 
Minorites,  5. 
Misnia,  6.  90. 
Monasticism,  100.  102.  178. 
Morlin,  01. 

Municipalities  at  Diet,  220  f. 
Murner,  74.  86  f . 
Mutian,  87.  174. 
Myconius,   10.    14.   172.   100. 

Nassau,  35  f.  37.  03.  102.  104. 
Naumburg,  171. 
Nesen,  182. 
Nihelungcn,  232. 

Oberndorf,  1. 

Oecolampad,  81. 

Oelhafen,  221. 

Ofterdingen,  Ileinr.  von,  232. 

Oppenheim,  34.  188. 


INDEX. 


285 


Ordination,  245. 
Orosiiis,  232. 
Oswald,  182. 

Palatine,  Elootor,  31.  34.  132. 
100.  108.  227. 

Paleologus,  John,  40. 

Paltz,  178. 

Papocacsarisni,  2(1. 

Pappciihcim.   102.  1!)4.   107.  200. 

Pa  rentes,  1S2. 

Paris,  ;"). 

Passionary  of  Christ  and  Anti- 
christ, 254  11". 

Pastor,  30. 

Peace,  Perpctnal,  224. 

I'eHejJirini,  122. 

I'ellican.  SI. 

I\'t/ensteiner,  Ki!)  f. 

Peutin^jfcr,  S.  31.  ISO.  100.  20S. 
217. 

Philip  of  Spain,   124. 

Philip,  l^andtjrave,  5S.  07  f.  70  f. 

Pirckheimer,  111. 

Pins  IT,  24. 

Poemer,  05.   104. 

P()rtiii>al.  Kintf  of,  45. 

Precepts  in   Scripture,   100. 

Press,  the,  21. 

Prierias,  24.   100  f. 

Priesthood,  universal,  S5  f.  102. 
127.  243.  245. 

Primacy  of  Pope,  25.  44  f.  40.  51. 
55f. '65.  102.  125.  135.  137. 
145.    105.    105.   205.   200.   241. 

Pucci,  14.  40.  48.  51. 

Ratzeberger,  1S2. 
Real  Presence,   125. 
lveforniati(tn  1)\'  Rome.  05  11.  Hi.'). 
Reinliardt   Non    Kippni'.    I5isli(»]t, 

230.  23S. 
Ivcinhardtsliinnn.   1S2. 
Renee  de  France,   10 1. 
Reuchlin,   15.  81.    110.  235. 
Rhenanus,    15. 

Richard  of  Corn^yallis.  227. 
Romanists.    20  11".   27.   4:{  f.    2  to. 

253. 
liotnfdhrt,   148. 
Ivubeanus,  C'rotus.  174.   17'.'. 
Rudolph   of  napsl(ur<r.  22S ;     of 

Snal)ia,  227. 
Ruiz  dc  la  Mota,  130. 


Sacranu'nts,    103.    I4.'>;     in   both 

forms,  2.')0. 
Salmann,  Risliop,  233. 
Sahatierra,   141. 
Salzburg,  231. 
Sander,  150. 

Sassetta  della,  .\ii1oiiy.  122. 
Savonarola,   110.    171. 
Saxony,  227. 
Scbart,  00. 
Scheurl,  .31 .  (i5.   104. 
Schinncr,   Card.,   05.    120  f.    133. 

1.30.    13S.    140. 
Schleujtner,   I  14. 
Sclimalz,   180. 
Schmidling,  00. 
Schott,  180.  102. 
Schurf,  Augustine,  SO;    .leronie, 

10!>.   104.  201. 
Sclnvenkfeld,   114. 
Schwertfeger,  88. 
Scotus,   103. 
Scultetus,  22. 
Seckendorf,   171. 
Seidemann,  74. 
Shakespeare,  13. 
Sickingen,  10.   15  f.    17  f.  58.  78. 

101.    185  rt'.    102.    238:      Kein- 

hard  von.  Bishop.  233.  2.35. 
Siegfried,  232. 
Sigismund,     l-lnipcior.     1.     4.3  f. 

125.   P.I4. 
Sleep  of  Christ,  103  f. 
Smith,  Preserved,  30.  208. 
Spain,  30.  45.   141  f. 
Spalatin,    4.     10.    40.    14.3.    15S. 

183  f.   1S7.   l'.>2.   104.  221. 
Speiigler.  .31.  71.   1  12.   144. 
S|)iegel,    1.3S.    14(1. 
Sladion,  5. 
Siallbnrg,    18.3. 
Staupitz,  0.   1  10.    112.   1  l.l. 
Stehlin.  88. 
Stolberg.  87. 

Storm,  (53.    14!i.    I'.i7.  204. 
Snaven,  lO'.t  f. 
Sii fK  rs((lra.s,  04. 
Swil/erland.   14  f. 

'ranbenheym,  !»(•.    15.3. 
'I'esch,  Ss! 

'I'l-nlonic  Knights,  2.30. 
Thnn,  Fred  von,   102.  210. 


28(1 


lADEX. 


Thungen,  Arnold  von,  174. 
Torgaii,  7. 

Tournaments,  34.  69.  121. 
Towns,  imperial  and  episcopal, 

229. 
Treves,  227. 
Triit  fetter,  178. 
Tueher,  65. 
Tunstall,  63. 

Ulrich,  Duke,  50. 
Unction,  extreme,  246. 
Usingen,  176  f. 

\'acaiidar(l,  2(j. 

ViUKjioHCs,  231. 

\'edder,  27  ft". 

AVlenus,  90. 

Venice,  (55. 

Vesenmeyer,  154. 

Vogel,  or  Vogler,  KS9.  208. 

Voigt,  177. 

Vows,  241  f. 


Warbeck,  182.  188  f. 

Warham,  Archbishop,  63. 

Weimar,  171. 

Weller,  Anna,  53. 

Wesel,  Ruchart  von,  235. 

Westphalia,  Peace  of,  229. 

Wiclif,  125.  218. 

Wild,  89. 

WiUchriefe,  228. 

W'inipfeling,  86. 

Wittenberg,    5;     univcrsitv    of, 

87.  89. 
\\'olsey,  Card.,  63. 
Works,  good,  159  f.  172. 
Worms,  5.  7.  17  f.  34  f.  66  ff.  231 

to  238. 

Zasius,  15. 

Zevenbergen,  50  f. 

Ziegler,  151  f. 

Zorn,  235. 

Zwingli,  5.  13  f.  16.  24.  81. 


il 


BW2220.D23V.3  , ,    ,.     ,   ,., 

Leaves  from  the  story  of  Luther  s  life. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00073  2521 


